Canadian
Tamil LiteratureFractured Self: A
Study of V.N. Giritharan’s
Selected Short StoriesA dissertation submitted to the University of Madras in partial fulfilment of
the requirements for the award of the degree of

AcknowledgementsI am highly indebted to my supervisor, Mrs. M. Angkayarkan Vinayaka Selvi,
lecturer, Department of English, University of Madras, for her constant help and
valuable guidance. Her efforts made me think about my subject from various
points of view which has helped me greatly.

I wish to express my
profound gratitude to Dr. C.T. Indra, Professor and Head, Department of English,
University of Madras for the kind support and constant encouragement throughout
the period of my study.

I express my
heartfelt gratitude to Dr. R. Azhgarasan, Lecturer, Department of English,
University of Madras, for his constructive ideas. This motivated me to
move faster on my work. He had been the source of inspiration for me throughout
the period of my study.

I would like to thank
Dr. D. Venkataramanan, Lecturer, Department of English, University of Madras,
for rectifying the errors in my writing and giving suggestions to choose
title for my thesis.

My sincere thanks are
credited to Dr. Rajani, Dr. Armstrong, Miss. Supala Pandiarajan and non-teaching
staffs for their kind help to complete my thesis.
I extend my thanks to all my friends who were with me to support my work at
every level.

Last but not least I
would like to use this opportunity to thank my parents for their love, support
and affection.

AbstractDiasporic writing occupies a significant place in literature in the recent
years. Many writers have emerged in the world literary scene and they contribute
to this genre. But critics argue the need for such writings and they decry
diaspora literature as bourgeois literature. Giritharan’s writings serve as an
answer to these critics’ argument. His stories prove that there is a need for
such writing to convey the sufferings of Srilankan Tamils.

Chapter one traces the history of diaspora and gives a brief discussion of the
Tamil Diaspora. Chapter two deals with the life and works of V.N. Giritharan. It
analyses his works in terms of language, form and theme.Chapter three highlights
the problem of diasporic identity as discussed by Giritharan in his short
stories.
Chapter four gives a clear description of the Tamils as a Transnational
community in the widespread world in an era of globalization.Chapter V concludes
the above argument and contends that Giritharan’s short stories are not an
outcome of leisure of bourgeois society instead it is an outburst of a depressed
mind which has undergone a traumatic genocide.

The term “Diaspora” comes from the Greek word ‘diaspeirein’ that means to
disperse or scatter. Diaspora is the dispersal or the scattering of people
from their homeland to various parts of the world. The term ‘diaspora’ conveys
different meanings at different levels. Initially it was used by the ancient
Greeks to refer to the colonizers who immigrated to the colonized land for the
purpose of colonization. Later, the meaning of the term changed when the Old
Testament was translated into Greek. Then the word ‘diaspora’ is specifically
used to refer a huge population of
Jews who were forced into exile from Judea by the Babylonians.

The term was assimilated from Greek into English in the twentieth century. Even
then the word Diaspora literally meant the scattering of people from their
homeland by willing or by force and settling in other countries. The terms
migrant, expatriate, exile, refugee were replaced by the term Diaspora in recent
days. The word Diaspora has an ambiguous meaning of the scattering of two types
of people i.e. ambassadors and refugees. The first one includes professionals
and job seekers who fled the country in search of white-collar jobs. The second
types of people
are those who were expelled out by force. These people fled the country due to
ethnic conflict, economic problems and as indentured
labourers.

Though both the type of people leaves their country for settling in an alien
land, the need for both of them differs. There were many reasons for the
dispersal of the people from their homeland. While one tries to understand the
foreign culture and makes life comfortable, the other seeks refuge and
protection in the host land. The former has a forward looking attitude and
assimilates the host culture easily while the latter keeps himself isolated and
has a nostalgic attitude in them of their homeland. Though the definition for
the immigrants and the expatriates
differs, what captures one’s attention is the cause of the migration.

Of the dispersed people not all were educated. Only a very few were educated and
these people tries to record their feelings and sufferings in an alien land.
Thus, in the recent years a great body of writers has emerged on the world
literary scene who have highlighted the problems of the dispersed population.
There are many writers who contribute to this genre and they formed a community
called ‘Diaspora community’. These writers have depicted all the problems of the
dispersed people which include the reason for migration, the problems in the
native land, the
agents of migration and the life of the migrants in an alien land that usually
concentrate on the socio-cultural, socio-political and psychological
issues.

At present there are different Diasporas in the world. Among them the Jewish,
Indian, African and Chinese are some notable Diasporas. The Indian Diaspora is a
major one, which constitutes approximately of twenty million people all over the
world. They are serving as entrepreneurs, workers, teachers, researchers,
innovators, doctors, lawyers, engineers, managers and even political leaders.
There are many eminent writers of Indian Diaspora like Bharathi Mukarjee,
Rohinton Mistry, Salman Rushdie, V.S. Naipaul, Jumpa Lahiri and Uma Parameswaran
who have been discussing several issues concerning their homelands and the land
in which they live.

The evolution of the Indian Diaspora can be traced from the beginning of the
nineteenth century. The first wave of migration started with the abolition of
slavery during 1833-34. Many people were sent as indentured labourers to
Mauritius, Carribean, Fiji and South Africa. There were two main reasons behind
the migration under the colonial rule. One was the poor economic condition that
prevailed in India due to the destruction of cottage industries, which resulted
in extreme poverty and unemployment. The other reason is that the colonial
masters found the
Indians skillful and hardworking. So the British, French, Dutch and the
Portuguese took Indian labourers to their territories. The labouring poor
were made to work in the plantations under British control.

The second wave of migrants was Businessmen, Artisans, Traders and Factory
workers who emigrated for betterment of their trade and business. The third wave
of immigrants was the professionals and the educated elites of India. They went
in search of green pastures and white-collar jobs in the more advanced
countries. One of the basic reasons of the dispersal of Indians and Chinese was
the overcrowded
population. So the educated elite moved towards developed nations such as the
United States, Britain, France and Australia. Among the dispersed people, the
Tamils form a larger group and they are called the “Tamil Diaspora”. The Tamil
Diaspora refers to the scattered Tamil population of Srilanka and Tamilnadu. The
dispersal of Tamils around the globe is not of recent origin. This scattering
started
with trade in olden days and grown as indentured labourers during the early
colonial, especially after the abolition of slavery in 1834 and continuing still
as refugees and asylum seekers. Like other Diasporas, the Tamils are scattered
and dislocated across the globe with majority in Canada, Europe, Australia, USA,
Malaysia and Singapore.

Even though the Tamil Diaspora constitutes Tamils from different parts of the
world, it is the Tamils from Srilanka who forms a major part of the Tamil
Diaspora. The Srilankan Tamil Diaspora is also called as ‘Ceylonese Diaspora’ or
‘Jaaffnese Diaspora’, which in common refers to the Srilankan Tamils all over
the world. The Tamils in Srilanka are as old as the Sinhala tradition. Their
origins lay in south India in cultural region known as ‘Tamilakam’, which
comprises the entire present day Tami Nadu, and some parts of Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka and Kerala. The Tamils occupied a prominent place in the Sinhala
kingdom especially from the seventh to eleventh century. They occupied many
higher positions in the government of Srilanka.

The Ceylon Tamils are an industrious community who easily grabbed the
opportunities. Even though there are some Christians in the Tamil community,
majority were the Hindus. Most of the Sinhalese were Muslims and some claims as
Buddhists. Hence there existed a difference between the Sinhalese and the
Tamils.

The rise of Tamil kingdom created problems to which Ceylon was accustomed. In
Ceylon, so far Sinhalese had been the chief language and Buddhism its main
religion. In the Tamil kingdom Tamil became the chief language and Hinduism its
main religion. Before long a distinction arose also in economic conditions. The
Tamil kingdom arose in the dry zone and the Tamils followed the method of
cultivation suitable to this area. The Sinhalese, on the other hand, gradually
abandoning the dry zone, began to occupy the wet zone, which was more productive
and suitable also for the cultivation of products other than rice. These
differences created a gulf between the two peoples and they are partly
responsible for the divisions between the Sinhalese and the Tamils.
(Hulugalle 18)

Roughly one-eighth of the population of Ceylon is Tamils. These are people who
come from Madurai, Pudukottai, Trichinopoly (Trichy), Tanjore, salem,
Coimbatore, Tinnevelley (Tirinelveli) and Ramnad districts. They are Tamils who
profess Hinduism and they work as labourers in tea and rubber estate. A major
part of the trade and commerce of Ceylon before 1983 was in the hands of the
Tamils. The financiers, traders and businessmen include many ‘Nattukottai
Chettiars’ from Pudukottai and Ramnad districts. Thus the Tamils were enjoying a
better position in
Srilanka even though there was an underground protest (the protest of the Tamils
for a separate nation), which was not rigorous.

The census report of 1981 says that the Tamil population in Srilanka was 95.3%
in Jaffna, 76.0%in Mullaitivu, 56.9% in Vavuniya, 33.7% in Trincomalee, 70.8% in
Batticaloa and 20.1% in Amparai. The Tamils constitute almost 17% of the total
population of Srilanka. But in the recent days the Srilankan Tamil population
was reduced to 4% because of the ethnic conflict. The history of Srilankan Tamil
migration can be divided into three distinct phases.

During the colonial period the immigration of Srilankan Tamils started with the
British rule in Srilanka. The British were in need of skilled labourers and
professionals to work in foreign lands under British rule. The Tamils in
Srilanka were ready to get educational or job opportunities through the British.
The British also preferred the Tamils even though the Sinhalese are the majority
in Srilanka. Though the Sinhalese outnumber the Tamils in Srilanka they were not
able to outsmart the Tamils. The British considered that the Tamils were much
better off than the Sinhalese who were fed up with ethnic conflict. This led to
the migration of Tamils mainly to countries like Malaysia, Singapore and the
then Madras Presidency in India. Due to this immigration the Tamil immigrants
occupied many higher positions in the government of Malaysia and Singapore.

There were many Tamils in Malaysia and Singapore to whom goes the credit of
being first Asian non-white doctors and engineers. In the early days in Malaysia
and Singapore’s history, the Srilankan Tamils achievements had a special place.
Even today the Tamils play an important role in Malaysia and Singapore. In the
judiciary, civil service, military, educational sectors, medical services and in
many other professions they are contributing their selfless service. This is not
because they are the members of a minority community but they are selected only
on the basis of their merit. The Tamils of Srilanka are ready to compete with
any larger community and they want to judge them only on the basis of merit
rather than considering them as a minority community. Even in Srilanka many of
the plantations, textile industries were owned by the Tamils before 1983. The
Srilankan Tamils have established schools, banks and temples many other
institutions in all parts of the world as a symbol of
their cultural heritage.

During the post independent period there was not much migration, as the Tamils
did not have any problem or lack of opportunities in Srilanka. Everything
changed within a short period as the government of Srilanka, which was
controlled by the Sinhalese, introduced ‘Sinhala only act’. This was because the
Tamils occupied all the major positions in the Srilankan government since they
were proficient in English. This resulted in unemployment among the Sinhala
youth. So they gave pressure to the government to act in a way that all jobs
should be given on the basis of identity, nation, culture and language apart
from merit. Hence many Tamils were removed from meritorious posts in Srilankan
government. Thus many Tamil professionals started migrating to foreign lands
where they felt they could get better positions.

The third phase of migration started with the outburst of civil war 1983. ‘Black
July’ is the name given to the conflict that burst out in Srilanka on 23rd July
1983 and it has become a day of mourning and remembrance for srilankan Tamils
around the world. Thousands of Tamils were killed, many houses were burnt and a
large number of srilankan Tamil sought refuge in other countries. Black July was
considered as the catalyst that increased the ethnic conflict, which already
existed in Srilanka.

What triggered the unprecedented state of violence against the Tamils was the
killing of thirteen government soldiers on23rd July in Jaffna by the Liberation
Tigers of the Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The liberation tigers who were fighting for a
separate state have never involved in such a terrible violence. But, the rape of
four Tamil women who later committed suicide by the Sinhala soldiers made the
liberation tigers to indulge in active violence. On 25th July the bodies of
thirteen soldiers were brought to Colombo for their funeral. By that time some
Sinhalese formed
groups and started killing Tamil people and looting and burning their properties
as an act of avenging the soldier’s death. The government also acted in favour
of the Sinhalese as the government itself was Sinhala dominated.

The government enforced a curfew after twenty-four hours of burning violence.
Even before that the violence began to spread to all parts of Srilanka where the
Tamils lived. The rioters initially targeted the houses, factories and estates
owned by Tamil people. Then they went in groups and killed Tamils wherever they
saw. This made many Tamil youths to join the Tamil militant groups like LTTE and
TULF (Tamil United Liberation Font). Thousands of Tamil people fled the country
to settle in countries like India, Australia, Canada and some other European
countries in search of asylum.

All Diasporas have love towards their nation, origin, the place of their birth
and their ancestors. In a similar way there is one core element that binds
together the Tamil people dispersed across the world, which is their Common
language ‘Tamil’, and it’s rich and inspiring manifestations. The Tamil language
and culture have transcended national boundaries. It also continues to record
and express thoughts of all the Tamils in writings. Apart from this, the Tamils
have taken the media as a tool for expressing their views and uniting Tamil
people all over the world.
There are many Tamil websites where all Tamils can voice their woes and express
their feeling which easily reaches all Tamils.

Statistics says that the migrated population after 1983 is said to be above
800,000. Nearly one fourth of the Srilankan Tamils have spread across the world.
India has 150,000 Srilankan Tamils, Canada 320,000, Germany 60,000, France
100,000, UK 300, 00, Switzerland 400, 00 US 250, 00, Italy 240, 00, Malaysia
200, 00, Australia 530, 00 Norway 130, 00 Netherland 7000 and Sweden 6000. Among
them Canada
has major concentration of Srilankan Tamils. Most of the Tamils in Canada
emigrated after the outbreak of civil war 1983. These people are called as
Asylum Diaspora in Canada as they sought refuge in that land.

The Tamil community is centered in the Toronto area. Nowadays Toronto has more
Tamils than some the major Srilankan cities like Jaffna and Colombo. One can say
that Toronto is the largest Srilankan Tamil city in the world. Many Srilanka
born professionals who are also writers live in Canada. Michael Ondatjee, Chelva
Kanaganayagam, Rudramoorthy Cheran, V.N. Giritharan and Pon Kulendiren are
notable among them. The Tamils in Canada also have two Internet websites
Pathivugal and Kuviam. Kuviam is being edited by Pon. Kulendiren. This e-zine
features many aspects of Srilankan Tamils. Pon Kulendiren writes fiction and he
has authored a collection of short stories in English titled Stories from
Srilanka. V.N. Giritharan who writes fiction, short story and poetry in Tamil
edits Pathivugal. While Kuviam is Trilingual Pathivugal is bilingual.Even though
the diasporic writings are gaining importance these days, there are many critics
who argue about the essence of such writings. These critics raise the question
against the diasporic writers regarding their sense of dislocation and reason
for not glorifying their homeland.
There are many diasporic writers who find it difficult to answer these questions
since they are professionals or Ambassadors and their purpose of immigration was
seeking green pastures and white-collar jobs. Hence these writers have not
experienced many difficulties in their homeland as well as the land of their
settlement. They live a sophisticated life and only for some people there will
be nostalgia towards their homeland. But writers like Gritharan experience many
problems such as ethnic conflict, social problems, employment problems etc in
their homeland. After migrating to some other countries these problems exist.
They feel alienated and their identity being fractured and feels very difficult
to survive in
the host land. Giritharan’s writings depict the problem of immigrant existence
as well as the problems of the native land. For this Giritharan himself says:

At the same time we are people who have come running here forced by the ethnic
problems of our land. Of late, some of our fellow men are expressing such views
as the works of immigrant writers speak of nothing else save the sorrows and
problems of their motherland. But, this should not be and that their works
should also concentrate on the issues of the land in which they have sought
shelter. I cannot forget the travails and traumas of my motherland. My stories
can never escape from their grip. At the same time I cannot free myself from the
clutches of my new surroundings. My stories are bound to reflect it in its
various aspects. But, even when I reflect this new surrounding the complexion of
the ethnic problem that is eating out my motherland would surely reveal itself
through all my depictions. (Ramakrishnan)

There are many writers from Srilanka but not all of them are of Tamil origin.
Even if they are from Tamil origin many writers chooses to write in English.
Only a very few writers tend to write in Tamil. The literature produced by them
is called as ‘Pulampeyarnthor Ilakkiyam’ (Literature of the Expatriates).
Giritharan proves himself as a significant short story writer in the widespread
Tamil literary field as well as the recently emerged Diaspora. His works proves
that writings in English about the sorrows and sufferings of the immigrants can
never be effective as those written in
Tamil. It is with this standpoint this dissertation tries to analyse selected
short stories of V.N. Giritharan and locate him as a diasporic writer who has
given a new dimension to the Diaspora literature.

Chapter-II
Giritharan: The Man and his Works!
V.N. Giritharan (Navaratnam, Giritharan) is basically a Tamil writer from
Srilanka who moved to Canada at a very young age. He was born to Navaratnam in
Vannara Pannai, Srilanka. He spent most of his childhood days in Vavunya,
particularly in the Vanni district. In order to show his love for the place
where he spent his childhood days, he added the first letter of the district ‘V’
before his name. He started his primary education in the Vavunya Maha Vidyalaya.
He had his higher education in the Jaffna Hindu College (Yal Inthuk Kalluri). He also obtained a
bachelor degree in
Architecture from the Morotuva University. At present he lives in the
Scarbarough district of Toronto, Canada.

Giritharan has authored many short stories, poems, novels and essays. He started
his writing career at a very young age. When he was living in Srilanka, he
entered the literary field through the Children’s magazine. His first poem
“Pongalo Pongal” was published in the popular Tamil magazine Sudanthiran. When
he was studying seventh standard he won the first prize in the essay competition
conducted for the Srilankan Tamil day celebration all over Srilanka. He has
written many children stories. His writings were published in many popular Tamil
magazines such
as Eezha Nadu, Sudanthiran, Siruvar Malar, Siritharan, Kanmani, Veera Kesari,
Eezha Mani, Kanayaazhi, Subamangalaa, Aanantha Vikatan, Thulir, Thaayagam,
Thedal, Chuvadugal and Thinnai.

One of his short stories named “Salanangal” (Agitations) was selected for prize
in the short story competition conducted by Sirithiran. Kumaran Publishers and
Sneha Publishers in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, published some of his short stories and
novels. One of his story entitled “Oru Maa (naa)ttu pirachanai” (A co(w)untry
Issue) had been added into the book titled Paniyum Panaiyum ( The Snow and The
Palmyra) edited by a Tamil writer Indira Paarthasarathy. One of his short
stories 'Pondhu Paravaigal' (birds of the Furrow) had been published for the Tamil
students in Singapore. His essays on ‘Nallur Rajdhani city lay out’ and
‘Preserving Historical Monuments’ were published in Eezha Naadu and Veera
Kesari. Many of his essays about Astrophysics were published in Veera Kesari,
Kanaiyaazhi, Thinnai and Pathivugal. He has also served as the editor of the
Morotuwa University journal ‘Nutpam’ for a short period.

After his immigration to Canada his writings are published in Thaayagam,
Kanayaazhi, Thulir, Chuvadugal, Uyir Nizhal, Aanantha Vikatan, Subamangala and
in some e-zines such as Thinnai, Ambalam, Aaraanthinai, and Maanasarovargam.
Some of the essays that were published in these magazines include ‘Essays on
Einstein’s Theory of Relativity’ and ‘essays on the Dravidian Architecture’.
‘Marabum kavithaiyum’ (Tradition and Poetry), ‘Valarmuga Naadugalum Kudimanai
Pirachanaigalum’ (developing countries and the problems of Architecture), some
essays on Bharathiaar’s works and many of his critical reviews about Tamil
literature were published in Thaayagam. Since 2000, he has organized a Tamil
e-zine named Pathivugal and has been the chief editor of that magazine. He has
also tried his hand in some of the magazines and newspapers after his
immigration to Canada. They are Iravi and Kalvi (weekly magazines) Kural, a
manuscript, Namadhu Boomi and Kanini Ulagam (News letters).

He has written a series of short stories.
They are:

“Seethaakaa” (Sister Sita)
“Oru Ma (naa) tu Pirachanai” (A Co(w)untry Issue)
“Nee Engirunthu Varugirai?” (Where are you from?)
“Deva Tharisanam” (Auspicious Sight)
“Aathmaavin Puthuyirpu” (Re-incarnation of the Soul)
“Goutamanin Vaazhvu” (Life of Gautama)
“Nadu Vazhiyil oru Payanam” (A Journey in the Midway)
“Vangaalai”
“Manoranjitham”
“Jamaickanutan Sila Kanangal” (A Few Moments with the Jamaican)
“Kalaanithiyum Veethi Manithanum” (Kalaanithi and The Street Man)
“Saavitri Oru Srilankan Agathiyin Kuzhanthai” (Saavitri a Srilankan Refugee’s
Child)
“Pulam Peyarthal” (Expatriation)
“Concrete Vanathu Kuruvigal” (Birds Of The Concrete Forest)
“Oru Mahonnatha Padaipaali Ezhuthum Sirugathai” (A Short story Being written by
a Renowned writer)
“Sonthakkaaran” (Relative)
“Thappi Pizhaithal” (A Way Out)
“Africa America Canadiya Kudivaravaalan” (An African, American, Canadian
Immigrant)
“Veedatravan” (The Homeless)
“Manaivi” (Wife)
“Yannal” (window)
“Sundeligal” (Mice)
“Palli Koodam” (A Hut of a Lizard)
“Kattatak Ka (Koo) ttu Muyalgal” (Hares of Concrete (Caged) Forest)
“Aasiriyarum Maanavanum” (The Teacher and the Student)
“Utaintha Manithanum Utaintha kaalum” (The Broken Man and The Broken Leg)
“Akkarai” (Concern)
“En Kuzhanthai” (My Child)
“Kanavan” (Husband)
Some of the short stories written during his early age are:
“Salanagal” (Agitations) selected in the A.N. Kandasaamy memorial essay
competition and was published in Sirithiran.
“Aalamarathadiyil Pirantha Jnanam” (Enlightenment under the Banyan Tree)
Published in Thinakaran.
“Anjalai Ennai Mannithu Vidu” (Forgive Me Anjalai) published in Eezha Naadu.
“Ippadiyum Oru Pen” (A Woman Even of This Kind) Published in Eezha Naadu.
“Manal Veedugal” (Sand Houses)
“Niyathi” (Obligation) a Metaphorical story published in Eezha Naadu.
“Arasaalum urimai yaaruku?” (Who has the Right to Rule?) A children’s story
published in Kanmani.
He has also written some novels. They are:
Mannin Kural (Voice of the Soil) published in Puratchi Paathai.
Kanangalum Kunangalum (Time and Attribute) published in Thaayagam.
Vanni Man (Vanni Soil) Published in Thaayagam.
Aruchunanin Thedalum Agaligaiyin kaadalum (The Quest of Arjuna and the Love of
Agalya) published in Thaayagam.
America Published in Thaayagam.

There are many eminent literary figures from Srilanka but nobody has dealt with
the problems of Tamil people in particular. Giritharan’s writings are based on
the sufferings and sorrows of the Tamil people. He has written all his stories
and novels based on what he has seen and experienced as an immigrant. In many of
his stories he adopted the first person narrative to make the story realistic
and effective. This
technique helps the reader to identify himself or herself with the characters of
the stories. In all the stories, he portrays some kind of problems. His stories
record the memory of the past as well as the present condition of life of the
immigrants.

The diasporic experience is shaped by economic positions, personal skills and
political relationships between the country of origin and the country of
adoption. Reception and acceptance of immigrants in the host country also helps
in shaping the diasporic experience. The host country’s immigration law, legal
system and cultural openness also contribute to this diasporic experience. The
diasporic writers are situated in a critical position between two nations and
cultures. They can neither forget their nation or culture from which they come
nor can they fully
assimilate the culture of their adopted nation. Thus Giritharan himself says:

Based on my own experiences as a migrant and at the same time having the plight
and problems of my country as the focal points my writings have taken shape. As
regards my Tamil writings of today has left its soil to survive in an alien
land, it leads a life in a world that hangs suspended, struggling to come to
terms with life in between the strange climate of the land that has given
shelter and the memories of their mother land. As I too belong to this hanging
suspended generation I cannot help but depict the living conditions of the land
of refuge and the
plight and perils of my motherland. (Ramakrishnan)

Giritharan’s use of puns in the title of his short stories is one of his notable
techniques. Some of his short story title has ambiguous meaning and it also
sounds ambiguous. They are “Oru Ma(naa)tu Pirachanai,” “Pallikoodam,” and
“Kattatak ka(koo)ttu Muyalgal.” With the usage of pun and word play in his
titles, Giritharan is able to bring out the situation of the Diaspora people who
have lost the meaning of their life. All the three short stories, as the title
suggests have a direct suggested meaning and it also has an implied inner
meaning. The author ironically brings
out the condition of the Tamil immigrants through the play of words by giving
some examples and equating them with the immigrant situation.The short story
cycle is an interesting genre that is used by some of the diasporic writers.
Giritharan also adopts this form to portray his thoughts and ideas. In the short
story cycle the writer is able to negotiate ideas, characters and themes, which
are simultaneously independent and at the same time interdependent, resembling a
novel in its totality and yet composed of a series of short stories. The short
story in its totality becomes comparable to a novel because in the recent years
the borders between the literary genres have become fluid. The stories in these
cycles deal with three thematic issues. First, the stories are concerned with
the creation and preservation of a particular ethnically related group of
people. Next, they explore the intra-community dealings and reflect on the
inter-racial relations. Finally, the scope of the stories goes beyond the
geographical boundaries to describe the process of immigration and adaptation to
another socio-cultural environment. Hence, the
shifting borders of ethnicity in their location/dislocation discover in their
formal expression that forms the cycle.

The short story collection has added the advantage of the polyphony of voices in
different stories and each story is independent and complete in itself and yet
thematically and structurally related to the others. The stories display a
dynamic pattern of recurrent themes that are connected to each other or a common
theme that is viewed through different angles. The characteristic form of the
short story cycle is metaphoric in expression. The themes explored in the short
story cycle are the same as in most of the migrant literature such as nostalgia
for the past, fear
of losing own identity, loneliness, hostility, exile, dislocation,
discrimination, assimilation, acculturation, language issues and problems of
duality. These issues form the core of Giritharan’s short stories.

The concern of the diasporic writers is not only with the memory and nostalgia
but also with the ‘place’ and ‘displacement’. The theme of home/homelessness is
an important issue in diasporic literature. Many of Giritharn’s short stories
prove this. Thoughts and images of life in the past either of sorrow or joy give
a new experience to the immigrants and they are situated in a particular
geographical space. However the context provided by space in which memory is
positioned changes with time and distance. The space of the homeland that seems
constricting for the people prior to migration becomes a source and object of
nostalgia and longing after the migration. The immigrant could only have the
nostalgia but can never think of returning to his homeland because the concept
of identity entirely changes with the dislocation of the immigrant. These issues
form the core of the short story “The Homeless.” The story opens with the
description of a night in Richmond Duncan area of
the Toronto city, Canada. The author gives clear picture of the busy city with
the street vendors busily looking after their business, the dance clubs
overflowing with youths and some people returning home after finishing their
duties. The narrator also finds many homeless who were deep in sleep with the
manhole lids providing warmth. This manhole lid is one of the recurrent images
in Giritharan’s short stories. He brings this image to point out the homeless
condition of the immigrants.

The narrator was also returning home from his work and was waiting for the
signal to change. By that time the narrator hears a voice “can you spare some
coins my friend?” After turning around he finds a South African with bushy
moustache and beard with a plastic container in his hand. The narrator says that
he is supplied with many different experiences everyday in his host land. Since
Canada is a multicultural country, immigrants from all over the world occupy
Canada.

The African man introduces himself as ‘Clarke’ and says that he is going to
contest for the ‘Toronto Mayor Ship’ election. This gives a great surprise to
the narrator. It also seems ridiculous to him as there were many popular persons
competing for Toronto Mayor Ship and this homeless creature who is dwelling on
the street is also one among the contestants. By hearing this, the author is
also reminded of a story that he had heard during his childhood days. He also
narrates the story thus:

Once, the then president of srilanka, J.R. paid a visit to Ankodai. Ankodai is
the famous mental Asylum in Srilanka. And, one of the inmates of Ankodai
addressed the prestigious visitor thus: “Greetings, May I know who you are?”
J.R. responded with a smile, saying, “I am the all powerful legally-elected
president of this country.” hearing that the patient who threw on him the query
laughed aloud and then advised J.R. as follows, “sir I too had uttered those
words and as a result had been trapped ever since. Don’t you dare tell that
again to others that which
you have told me now. Then you will also suffer the same fate. (Ramakrishnan)

With a sense of humour, Giritharan has brought out the condition of the mind of
the homeless immigrants. The psychological trauma that they undergo makes them
get affected mentally. The author gets new experience everyday. Many incidents
seem to be a kind of mystery to him.The issue of colour is one of the most
difficult problems that the immigrants experience in their homeland as well as
their host land. Even in a multicultural society like Canada, this problem
persists. Towards the end of the story, the author highlights this issue. The
narrator gets the reason from the African man for his interest in contesting the
Toronto Mayor Ship and before they bid farewell, the African stops before a
signal. The narrator eagerly asks for the reason and the African replies thus:

If I am to go past, crossing this signal I will be stopped. And, advices would
be handed over to me, unasked. If I were to be seen by the policemen, they won
leave me they won’t leave you too. But, do you think that such situation would
befall a White man? The immigrants, minorities are all so much affected and
suffer a lot. And that’s why I am going to stand in this election.
(Ramakrishnan)

Through this the author brings out the racial discrimination, colour problem
that the immigrant’s face in an alien land. Differences always exist in aspects
of colour, race, culture, language and educational backgrounds. The author also
suggests through the character of African man that these immigrants should also
be given equal freedom in all respects in the host land. So, he tries to bring
forth the issue that all the immigrants should be treated equally without colour
differences.

“An end and a Beginning” is a story about a married young woman Yamuna. Her
husband, decrying her as unchaste and immoral, has deserted her. Yamuna has been
violently raped by an inhuman scoundrel during wartime. But her husband discards
her with the opinion that the society would talk ill of her. Here, Giritharan
brings out the memory of his homeland, the ethnic conflict in Srilanka, which is
killing the
innocent Tamils. He says:

Our life is nothing but a warfare. A constant struggle to escape for our life…
as like a warfare within a warfare and a run within the run for life… all those
that have taken place… all those unwanted happenings. Today the rains have
stopped but there is still some drizzling. (Ramakrishnan)

From the above passage one can understand the struggle of Tamils who have been
facing many problems in Srilanka. He has used war as a metaphor to portr ay
those problems. In this story Giritharn also gives attention to the social norms
and the strict rules that were imposed on women. He says that since yamuna has
been born a female sainthood has been forced on her by the society. The rape of
yamuna brings out the trauma of the Tamil women who were raped by the Sinhala
soldiers, which led to the cause of active violence between the Tamils and the
Sinhalese in Srilanka. The press and media have been acting in favour of the
Sinhala people, as the political leaders of the Sinhala government owned most of
these. Hence, they were not true in reporting the news and hid many atrocities
that were committed by the Sinhala soldiers.

Among the women who were raped by the Sinhala soldiers, some women committed
suicide. There are some women like Yamuna who have some commitments survived
regardless of their shame. Either these women has to take care of their children
or their aged parents. But their husbands discarded these women and they were
not allowed to mingle with the society. This was the condition of many Tamil
women particularly after the outbreak of the civil war in 1983. These women who
need protection and care in the hour of crisis were left helpless.

The short story “A Co(w)untry Issue” is one of Giritharan’s notable stories. In
this story the hero Ponnaiya drives his Honda Accord to the
Punjabi Wala’s garage to get it serviced. On his way he witnesses the strange
fight for freedom of a cow on the main road. The cow has
escaped from the slaughterhouse and it has blocked the road creating a traffic
jam. There were also some beef packers trying to catch the
cow standing around it. Ponnaiya could see the fear of death in the cow’s eyes
and he starts worrying for the pathetic situation of the cow.
Immediately he was reminded of his native land and the people who were in the
same situation of the cow. The author has chosen the cow’s
situation as a metaphor to picturise the piteous situation of the Tamils in his
native land. He says:

Poor cow, it is not able to realize the tenuous nature of freedom it has won,
and that is why it is struggling with all its might to protect this
freedom.” And he couldn’t help thinking of those in his native land. How many
are there who are exactly in the same situation of this cow.
There are those who escape in a haphazard manner and then are caught again, and
those who, unable to find any way die where they are.
(Ramakrishnan)

Through these lines the author reveals the plight and sufferings of many
Srilankan Tamils who were caught in the Sinhalese attack. The
position of Srilankan Tamils is either they have to fight for their freedom or
they have to leave their country. These people who undergo the
ethnic conflict do not have the courage to come out of their country and they
become the victims of the Sinhalese attack. Some people dares
to come out of their country but among them many were caught by the immigration
officers as these people try to travel without a valid visa.
These people were forced to live in the refugee camps. Only a very few tries to
enter other countries but these people also have to face
several immigrant problems. These people even after migrating to other countries
were not allowed to live peacefully.

In the next half of the story, Ponnaiya is so moved by the cow’s plight and he
feels that he could buy the cow by paying some amount. But,
he is reminded of his own situation that he himself is in the same condition of
the cow. He has come out of his home country and now he is
struggling to come to terms in an alien land. He thinks:

“What if I pay for the cow and so save its life? At home in Jaffna we could at
least tie it in the backyard. But where could I keep it here? In
the apartment? And even if I am able to save it, will saving just this one cow
alone solve the problem of all the rest of the cows who are in
the exactly same situation as this one? (Ramakrishnan)

These lines were the author’s anguish statements. Even though the author is
experiencing several problems he is not concerned with his
individual freedom but the freedom of his community. These lines also reveal the
author’s concern that he wants to get freedom for the entire
Srilankan Tamil community who were killed everyday like the cows being butchered
in the slaughterhouses.

Finally the cow’s plight comes to an end by a person shooting it with a
tranquilizer. Even though the cow had met its pathetic end, the author
feels very proud of the cow for its heroic fight and struggle for life.
Immediately in the next paragraph the author brings out the helpless
situation of the Tamils in Srilanka. He brings out that in his words thus:

The cow is involving in a life or death struggle, fighting to save its life.
There’s one part of the crowd to overpower it and do away with it,
another part to enjoy watching the excitement, another to photograph it and also
that is indifferent or impotent to do anything. (Do)
Like the cows struggle, the struggle of the Srilankan Tamils was left
disregarded by many. The Sinhalese soldiers are trying to chase all the
Tamils away from the country and the Sinhala government enjoys watching these
atrocities without taking any actions to save the Tamils. The
media is also acting in favour of them and they are capturing only the negative
aspects of the Tamil and showing to the people. And there are
also some people who never bother about anything, as they were impotent.

To this violent genocide, media and politicians from all parts of the world have
shown their responses against the Sinhala dominated
government. They condemned the politicians of Sinhala government as acting in
favour of the Sinhalese. Many of the famous magazines like
The Economist, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, Sunday Times and New Statesman
from London, Norwegian Tourist Eli Skarstein from Oslo,
The Arab News from Saudi Arabia and The Week from India have recorded the
atrocities committed by the Sinhalese with the support of the
Government. For example, in an article “Ever since Ceylon became independent in
1948, the Tamils have been a persecuted minority…” written
by Francis wheen in The Times London 30th august 1983 say that:

Under the prevention of terrorism act, which has been used almost exclusively
against Tamils, suspects can be held without trial for up to 18
months. Three weeks ago Amnesty International published a report, which
suggested that Tamils detained under the act, had been tortured both
in army camps and by the police. President Jeyawardene dismissed the allegations
as soon as the report appeared denouncing Amnesty as
“communists.” This reaction was consistent with his normal approach to the
bearers of bad tidings. One month ago he ordered closure of two
leading Jaffna newspapers Suthatnthiran and The Saturday Review, which had
printed accounts of attacks on Tamils in Trincomalee…. But
President Jeyawardene, like many of his compatriots, seems to use the word
“terrorist” and “Tamil” as if they were interchangeable these days.
He told an interviewer this month: “I am not worried about the opinion of the
Jaffna people now. Now we can’t think of them; not about their
lives orof their opinion of us.”(wheen)

The short story “Husband” is about the condition of the immigrants who have to
do some tedious jobs in the new land that they have come in.
The hero of the story Sababathi is assigned with ‘playing Guitar’, which means
to clean dishes in the hotels. He faces many physical problems,
as his body condition does not accept the cold climate of the winter at Toronto.
This makes him turn nostalgic about his homeland. The
narrator recalls his happy moments that he has spent in Cashorinaa beach, The
Navali Sand Mounds, the Kallundai space and the Palm girls
swaying in the wood. As years passed on he has become accustomed with the
climate of Toronto. But, the thoughts of his own land never left
him. The thematic outline of the story is the hero’s suspicion of his wife.

Though the narrator is fed up with all these thoughts, the thought about his
wife Banumathi bothers him a lot. He is married to her since one
year. A suspicion arises in his mind by an incident, which happens in a party in
his friend’s house. In a drunken mood his friends start to
discuss about some criminals who have exploited many women in the name of
agents. There are many women who have undergone these
travail and traumas in the process of immigration. It was through that agent the
hero’s wife Banumathi was also brought to Canada. The
narrator finds the root cause of all these problems in his homeland. He
describes the reason for such problems in the following lines:
The way our men are being ruined is all because of our country’s prevailing
climate. It is this climate that forces every one of us to run hither
and thither for shelter. This is the source for all kind of problems. Therefore
if our country’s condition could improve then all the mischiefs and
mismanagement could rapidly go down. (Ramakrishnan)

The ‘country’s prevailing climate’ in the above passage reflects the ethnic
conflict which prevails in Srilanka. The author tries to find out a
solution to solve the problem and he says all the traumas of the Tamils will
come to an end only if the country finds a solution to that.

An air of suspicion arises in the hero’s mind. The reason for his suspicion is
Banumathi’s extra-ordinary beauty. Her spellbound beauty
is capable of attracting anyone. So, the hero’s mind struggles with the fire of
suspicion. In order to come out of his haunting thoughts, he tries
to find happiness by having some drinks. Here the author introduces the Canadian
drinks ‘Taquila’ and ‘Marguerite’ which the hero is fond of
drinking. Whenever the narrator introduces something he is reminded of his
homeland. Even in the introduction of these drinks his memory goes
to his homeland where his favourite drinks were ‘Panangallu’ (Palm wine) and
‘Kurangu’ (Arrack). The hero says that, he could not find any
alternative for this ‘Kurangu’ in Canada, as it is much powerful and
incomparable.

The narrator then introduces a women character and he says that she has been
working with the hero in a Greek restaurant in Toronto. Even
though there is no description of Christina’s origin or identity, the author has
given importance to her views. While all the other whites
disregarded the people who have come from Asia and called them as ‘Pakis’, she
mingles with everybody without any distinctions. For her,
people who have come from Srilinka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India are Indians.
Through Christina’s view the author brings out the Rama’s
issue in the great Tamil epic Ramayana. Christina says:

“Sababathi, look at your Rama. You place him on a pedestal, call him god and
worship him and give him your offerings. But, he couldn’t
believe even his own wife. Whatever reason he could come out for his thought and
deed of doubting his wife it was wrong on his part to have
subjected Seetha to test by fire.”(Ramakrishnan)

The author here compares the hero’s suspicion with the suspicion of Rama. The
author tries to mock at the Indian culture where men are
allowed to go with any women but women should be chaste and true to their
husbands. They should live their entire life with an Individual to
whom they get married. He also says that even the great epic Ramayana is in
favour of the Indian culture in supporting this male-dominated
issue. The author tries to give a solution to this problem. This he brings out
through the words of Christina:

Of course, it is wrong. Lord Rama, who is an incarnation of god, doing so makes
it right on the part on one and all to suspect their wives
and subject them to such tests. Marriage is not an ordinary thing. It is a rare
kind of relationship or togetherness where they rely on each
other and believe each other all through their lives. For this, the mutual
belief is of paramount importance. Each one should respect the right of
the person. Did Seetha go to Ravana willingly? If the epic was written in such a
way that people suspected her chastity and fidelity but Rama
accepted her back whole-heartedly with no doubt, whatsoever then Ramayana would
have been my favourite story. (Ramakrishnan)

He also brings out another issue that what will happen if women start
questioning men’s purity. If it happens then many men will be left
helpless. Thus, through this story the author has brought out these important
issues that one should not suspect his/her partner. Although there
are many writers who have discussed this issue already in their writings,
Giritharan’s way of reading Ramayana is quite different from anybody
else. Giritharan himself gives answer for the Critics of Diaspora for their
disapproval of the writer’s choice of theme, dislocation and presentation.
He says:

Contradictions always exist. They shouldn’t be antagonistic instead they should
be friendly. There is need for children’s literature at the same
time there is need for serious literature. If we understand this, there won’t be
any fighting among literary groups. The purpose of the literature
is for various reasons. It can be a guide; it can be an entertainment…it can be
useful in various ways. For me all these different ‘…isms’ in
literature are important for various reasons. Fighting against each literary
concept is not a positive thing to do. (Do)

The short story “Seethaakaa” is divided into five parts. Like many of
Giritharan’s stories, this story also starts with the description of Toronto
city. The narrator of the story meets a bus driver from Monreal. The driver asks
the narrator to help a girl who came as a refugee from
Srilanka. The narrator accepts and goes forward to help the girl. He is
surprised to see the girl, as she is the Seethaakaa whom the narrator
has already known and she lives near his house in Srilanka. She is good-looking
and since there is no male child in her family, she has to
take care of her aged parents. Though she is beautiful and good mannered she
doesn’t get married. The narrator says that Seethaakaa is
fond reading the novels of Jeyakanthan, Uma Chandran, Naa.
Paarthasaarathy,Akilan, Kalki and Jegasirpi. This is nothing but the author’s
own
interest in the works of these writers. The author’s statement in many stories
implies that he is a reader of these writers from Tamil Nadu. In
some of his stories his statements also proves that he is a fan of Tamil cinemas
produced in Tamil Nadu.

After recollecting all his past memories the narrator assists Seethaaka to his
apartment to help her, since he is not able to help her in his
country, at least he can help her in this alien land. On their way to the
apartment, they start talking and the narrator comes to know that
Seethaakaa has got married. Through her, he also comes to know that her husband
has been stopped at Singapore, while she has been
allowed to go to Canada.

The problem in the agents of immigration is a recurrent theme in many of Giritharan’s stories. Almost in all his stories at least at one point he
highlights this issue. Many families are separated because of this serious
issue. The immigration officers stop many people and they are not
allowed to pass out. The tragedy is that they are not stopped in their home
country but they are caught in Thailand or Singapore. These
people are not allowed to go back to their home country or to the country, which
they want to migrate. They were imprisoned in the refugee
camps where they have to suffer the imprisonment for having done no crime.

In the second part of the story the narrator takes Seethaakaa to his apartment,
introduces his roommate Sababathi to her. Seethaakaa has got
used with the apartment soon. The apartment got a divinely fragrance with her
duties and worships. In the meantime, the narrator contacts the
agent who has sent Seethaakaa to Canada and gathers information about her
husband. He makes arrangements for Seethaakaa to talk with her
husband over phone. The author, in this paragraph brings out the agony of many
people who were separated from their family. Due to the civil
war in Srilanka many Tamils are scattered without any address. Many recently
married couples are separated and young children are separated
from their parents whereas the aged people are left unnoticed. Though these
people sell all their property to immigrate to some other country
in seeking asylum, the fate of these people makes them to suffer in refugee
camps.

The third part has a description of the author’s sweet memories. The narrator
finds Seethaakaa fed up with the memory of her husband. He
tries to console her by making promises to reunite her with her husband. In the
meantime, he hears the news from his homeland that they
have arranged for his marriage. This gives a kind of relief to his confused mind
and he starts dreaming. But his dream does not last for a
long time. Sababathi’s way of looking and his habitual actions create a doubt in
the narrator’s mind. So, before any misdeed happens the
narrator decides to send Sababathi to some other apartment. To his surprise,
Sababathi accepts to leave the apartment without showing any
objections.

The fourth part has a shift in the story, which was flowing smoothly till then.
Sababathi, who vacated the apartment without any objection,
started spreading rumours about the narrator and Seethaakaa. As a result of
this, the narrator receives a letter from his sister saying that his
marriage arrangement has been cancelled for the rumour story has reached the
bride’s parents. The narrator accuses his culture and culture,
which always spreads rumour. He decides to send Seethaakaa to his friend’s
apartment who works with him and who lives with her only mother.
The last part of the story shows Seethaakaa as a woman who takes decision
independently. She, who has been living with the help of a man
till then, decides to go out of the apartment as she too came to know about the
rumour. She writes a letter to the narrator and leaves the
apartment in the narrator’s absence. In this part she gains more importance as
she takes the courage to live independently. At no point in the
story she has been described as a sexual object. Giritharan in this aspect
differs from other writers who have portrayed women as an object of
sexual pleasure and he stands unique in his way of portrayal of woman.

The narrator feels very much disappointed, as he could not help Seethaakaa even
in this critical situation. He curses his own
community and people who involve in this type of spreading shameful issues and
bad rumours even after migrating to other countries. The last
two sentences of the story bring out the author’s pain. He asks: “Ethanai
Naatuku Thaan Pulam Peyarthenna? Pulan Peyarnthoma?” he makes
use of the pun in the words ‘Pulam’ and ‘pulan’ to mean that physical migration
can never result in accommodation of mind with the country of
settlement.

Through this question he states that the people are involved only in physical
migration but they haven’t came out of their evil qualities. They
carry these qualities wherever they go. Hence this story is a mock at the wrong
side of the Tamil culture and people.

“America” is a novella, which has taken shape as a result of the author’s stay
in Brooklyn refugee camp in America. The writer has criticized
the immigration policies and the legal systems of America in a ridiculous way.
The novella starts with the picturesque description of the Brooklyn
refugee camp. Like many of Gritharan’s stories this novella also features the
first person narrative. The narrator says that he had great honour
and respect for the American society, culture and politics as they show much
concern on the human rights since it was a democratic country.
He also has written an essay about America when he was studying in fourth
standard highlighting America as a democratic country where
human rights are valued, so that even an ordinary man like Abraham Lincoln could
also become the president. But as a writer even after
experiencing all the problems in Brooklyn he could not help depicting the wrong
side of the American systems. The novella brings forth the
bitter experiences of nineteen Srilankan Tamils who fled the country due to the
outbreak of the civil war in Srilanka. As the author was also
one among them it made him to record those bitter experiences which many
hundreds of Tamils face every day in the refugee camps all over
the world. The author has reduced the nineteen characters to five and has given
equal importance to each character.

As there was burning violence everywhere in Srilanka, these people sold their
properties and left their country with lot of dreams in search of a
new land. These five were allowed to travel up to Boston. In Boston they were
assigned to catch the Delta Airlines. But the officers of the
Delta Airlines stopped all the five, as they did not posses a valid visa. An
immigration officer threatens these people as they would send them
back to their country and he also prepares documents for that. But these five,
with the help of another immigration officer managed to ask
permission to stay in America as a refugee.

They were later taken to the New York City in a bus. All the five are eagerly
waiting to see the New York City as they have heard many
things about that city in their homeland itself. The author here asks a question
that why these people who are caught in Boston are taken to
New York. And immediately he gives answer in the next sentence itself. Boston is
a city where many Tamil organizations are functioning with
great honour. If these people are kept there some political issues will be
raised and in order to avoid this, they were transferred to New York.
On their way to New York they have been watching several wonders, which they
have never seen before. All were fed up with an immense joy.
But the narrator’s mind is full of the memories of his homeland. He has to earn
and solve his family problems, perform his sister’s marriage
grandly and also to bring his brother to Canada as soon as possible. Above all,
his memory goes to Kousalya who was adamant in her opinion
to marry him. Her thoughts make him lessen the burden of his heart. As they
reach the refugee camp, their properties are seized and they are
given the refugee dresses to wear. When they enter into the rooms the doors were
locked. It is only then they come to realize that they are
going to lead a jail life.

Here, the author brings out the atrocities committed by the officers in the
refugee camp. There is a separate cell for the refugees from each
country. They are not allowed to go out of the camps at any circumstances. The
author anguishly states that they are imprisoned with worlds
most cruel criminals whom he cannot found anywhere in the world except in that
refugee camp. The narrator also gets a chance to visit many
people who are like him. Their only freedom in the camp is they can chat freely
with the fellow refugees. So, all the five men discussed about
their problem and they finally arrive at a decision to go out of the refugee
camp by some way. They also talked with the members of the
Boston Tamil organization but this organization, which showed concern for these
people in the beginning, started to decline their offer.
These people are treated like criminals in the camps, though they have sought
refuge as per the rules and regulations of the American laws. In
these people’s visa they have written that these are people who have been
staying after their transit visa period got over. Even though these
people have applied for seeking refuge before the prescribed time, the American
law has cruelly punished them. The author painstakingly brings
out several issues that to whom can they address these problems and who can be
responsible for the psychological trauma that they have
undergone in the refugee camps. Somehow, they managed to come out of the camps
but their bitter experiences can never be erased from
their memory.

Though the author did not give any details about how these people got freedom
from the refugee camp, he has described the problems that
every refugee has to undergo in a refugee camp. Many people who are innocent
were forced to this type of situation. The author finds the
civil war as the root cause for all these problems. Through this novella he also
puts forth the darker side of the American legal systems, which
was rigid with the refugees.

There are many eminent writers from Srilanka such as Michael Ondatjee, Dominique
Jeeva, Chelva Kanaganayagam and Rudramoorty Cheran.
Giritharan stands unique among all these writers in the use of language, theme
and the form he has adopted for his writing. The language he
has chosen is the contemporary Srilankan Tamil. The theme of most of his short
stories is ‘survival’. In all his short stories, the civil war of
1983 appears like a refrain. The forthcoming chapters analyses the issues that
were discussed by Giritharan in his short stories. The
succeeding chapters also equate these issues with the issues discussed by other
diasporic writers and bring out Giritharan’s handling of these
issues.

Chapter-III
Questioning the Self: Identity Politics and Giritharan!

Identity is the fact of being who or what a person is. The words such as
‘character’, ‘distinctiveness’, ‘individuality’, ‘nature’, ‘particularity’,
‘personality’, ‘selfhood’, ‘singularity’ and ‘uniqueness’ are the terms that can
be replaced for identity. There are various factors that contribute to
the formation of identity. Certain elements, which constitute markers of
identity, are food, clothes, language retention, religion, music, dance,
myths, legends, customs, individual and community. These are retained, discarded
or adopted differently at different times and places but a
feeling of oneness; a tug of the roots persists even after several years and
sometime centuries. Based on the individual’s relationship with these
factors the identity differs and hence can be differentiated as cultural
identity, personal identity, collective identity, ethnic identity, gender
identity
and religious identity.

Personal identity is formed by different stages of development of the
personality of an individual, where the individual recognizes his/her own
characteristic features. This makes an individual to define himself or herself
to others as well as to themselves. This can also be called as self
-identity as this is a complete understanding of one’s self. This identity is
formed through several elements such as the individual’s physical,
psychological and social qualities, which get influenced, by the individual’s
attitudes, habits, beliefs and ideas.

Cultural identity is the sense of feeling or belonging to a culture or a
particular society, where the individual reacts more positively to the
culture to which he/she belongs. This identity is influenced by various factors
such as customs, social structure, rules and norms of the society,
food habits, clothing, family and marriage.

Ethnic identity is the identification of an individual with a particular ethnic
group. This identity is formed by a general resumption of having
ancestral or genealogical relation to the particular ethnic group, which is
often united by cultural, behavioural, linguistic, ritualistic and religious
principles.

National identity is an ethical and philosophical concept whereby all humans are
divided into groups called nations. It is the identity of a political
community, its values and commitments, its characteristic way of talking about
itself and conducting its political affairs and its organization of
principles. Members of a nation share a common identity and usually common
origin in the sense of ancestry, parentage or descent and they
have a strong affiliation to the nation in which they identify themselves.

Religious identity refers to the set of beliefs and practices generally held by
an individual who follows the codified beliefs and rituals. These
individuals also involve in the study of ancestral traditions, writings,
history, mythology, belief in faith and mystic experience. Thus this term
denotes the personal practices related to communal faith and rituals and the
message that arise from such convictions.

Collective identity is the sense of feeling or belonging to a group. This
identity is formed by an individual’s membership in various groups such
as family, occupation culture, ethnicity and religion. Members who identifies
with this group will dedicate his/her life to the group over the
individual identity. They will defend the views of the group and assume risks
for the group and sometimes to the extent of risking their life. The
cohesiveness of the collective identity is so strong and they suffer pain of
grief for the loss of a member.

Hence, all these psychological and psycho-social factors combine to form an
individual’s personality and it is this personality that becomes a
major factor in defining one’s identity. Sunanda Mongia in her essay “Fabricated images/Processed identity in Bharati Mukharjee’s Jasmine”
quotes Nancy’s description of identity thus:

According to psychoanalytic theory, personality is a result of a boy’s or a
girl’s social-relational experience since earliest infancy. These social
relations are appropriated, internalized and organized to constitute his/her
personality adding to the total structural organization. At the same
time, these are important determinants of any person’s behaviour both which is
culturally expected and that which is idiosyncratic or unique to
the individual. (Mcleod 205)

Thus, according to the Neo-Freudian concept, identity is formed through
different stages of development of personality where the beginning
stage is the mirror stage. Though it is the complete understanding of the self
it is something different from the self. Identity is the external layer
related to external factors such as colour, race, class, social position,
economic status and nationality. But, self is the inner layer constituted
through images of reflection, memory, education, and exposure to media. It is
also constituted by the act of choice among other things. This
self is affected by and sometimes affects identity. Thus identity is formed by
the process of bringing out the individual’s differences in the
society through fabricated images. But the process of identity formation is not
simple because all these images are fluid, fractured,
heterogeneous and unstable. So identity cannot be stable as it is an
amalgamation and fabrication of images.

In all the diasporic writings, this identity is represented as a fractured one.
Like the Diaspora (people) that get scattered and dispersed around
the world, the identity of these people is also scattered. Here are many
diasporic writers who have seriously discussed this issue. They say that
all the immigrants irrespective of caste, nation, gender, religion, race or
educational background face this identity problem. These immigrants who
have multiple identities in their homeland lose such identities in the host land
instead they get different identities as an ambassador or a
refugee. Though both types were losing their identity, it is the latter one,
which undergoes much scrutiny. This is because the former gets a
recognition in the host country whereas as the latter cannot. The first group of
people has a national identity in their home country. So they
can return to their homeland whenever they wish but the latter type cannot do
such because these are people who were denied identity in their
homeland itself. So the problem of identity affects these people most. This is
the case of the Srilankan Tamils who fled the country due to the
ethnic conflict. Therefore it becomes important for all the diasporic writers to
speak about Diaspora politics.

Diaspora politics is the study of the political behaviour of transnational
ethnic Diasporas, their relationship with their homeland and their host
countries and their role in the ethnic conflicts. A Diaspora is a transnational
community that defines itself as an individual ethnic group based
on its shared identity. Self-identified Diasporas gives much importance to their
homeland because of their ethnic and cultural association with
their homeland which has been conquered by somebody. This has led to the
outbreak of ethnic nationalist movement among the several
Diasporas whose major aim is to establish a separate homeland.

The Tamil Diaspora identifies itself in linguistic and cultural rather than
national or religious terms. The Tamils demand that their identity is
different from the national identity. The Tamils celebrate this difference and
they are proud of it. The Tamils who have their origin in
‘Tamilakam’ (a region in the southern part of India which comprises Tamilnadu,
kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh) and Srilanka never
claims for a national identity as an Indian or Srilankan. This is mainly because
of the Hindu/ Hindi problem, which started during the early
twentieth century.

Tamils had opposed the attempt to impose Hindi as a national and official
language from 1935. This is due to their sustained campaign that
English is still an official language of India. This led to the outbreak and the
rise of the Dravidian movement in Tamilnadu. EVR (E.V.
Ramasamy), who was popularly known as ‘Periyar’ brought out this movement. EVR
is revered by all the Tamils but has been marginalized to a
large extent in the Indian thought. They contest the claims of Mahatma Gandhi
and the congress as nationalist discourse and construct an
alternative discourse, which forms the Dravidian Movement. This difference forms
the basis of all Tamils. The Tamils oppose any attempt to
create a monolithic identity based on a single primordial factor. The Tamil
identity is transposed against the Hindu/Hindi identity.

All the diasporic writers are concerned with identity politics. Identity
politics is a political action, which increases the interests of members of an
oppressed group whose oppression is mainly because of a shared and marginalized
identity. The aim of identity politics is to empower the
oppressed to articulate their oppression in terms of their own experience.
Identity politics thus focuses on the major elements, which constitute
for identity formation such as race, ethnicity, sex, religion, caste, physical
disability and nationality.

Theorists who talk about identity politics say that oppression shapes the
consciousness of the oppressed in a way that the oppressed people
internalize their oppression. This oppression can raise their voice only in the
absence of the oppressor who enforces unjust definitions of
equality, justice and right. Hence, this identity politics leads way to
separatism. This forms the basic reason for the Tamil separatist Movement.
The Tamils who were oppressed by the Sinhalese in Srilanka got dispersed around
the world. They raise voice against their oppression and
fight for separate Tamil Eelam. For these people literature becomes a channel to
articulate their voice. They record the oppression and their
sufferings in their writings. One such attempt is the outcome of Giritharan’s
short stories.

Giritharan’s writings have this problem of identity as a central issue. As he
himself belongs to the wide spread Tamil Diaspora, his writings have
brought out the struggle of the immigrants whose identity gets fractured in the
host country. The issue of colour is one of the major problems
that the immigrants face in an alien land. The colour also plays am important
role in shaping one’s identity.

In the story “A Journey in the Midway,” Giritharan has brought out the problem
of colour. The narrator of the story goes home after finishing
his night watchman duty. The author says that he likes those moments which he
waits for bus. In such situation he gets time for admiring the
beauty of the night, sky, the people and the city, which gives him utmost
pleasure. He has also gained a lot from these moments than by
studying books or magazines. On his way, he finds a black man who is trying to
stop the taxis going that passes him. The man seemed to be
a Somaliyan for the narrator and he is tired of stopping taxis as no taxi stops
for him as he is a black.

The author here brings out the black man’s anguish statements as, “See! As I
belong to the black race, nobody stops for me. See there! Even
the black taxi Saarathi not stops for me” (Translation Mine). This statement
makes it clear how the dark coloured people were treated in the
white country like Canada. They were not treated equally as the natives of the
country. Even the immigrants who were whites never mingle with
the black. The author feels very pathetic for this colour difference exists not
only in the immigrated land bit also in their homeland. So he says,
“There’s nothing to blame them. You might have seen in newspapers. How many
times they have been attacked? Some are even killed.”
(Translation Mine) The blacks were treated inferiorly in their home country and
they were killed in their homeland. So, these people fled their
country and sought refuge in other countries but the colour difference persists
even in the land which they sought refuge.

After sometime the narrator gets a taxi and both the black man and the narrator
travel in the same taxi. They converse with each other and
the narrator comes to know that the black man is not a Somaliyan as he guessed.
He belonged to Erithiriya. As the narrator has already
known about the freedom struggle of Erithiria, he feels proud of that country
and the people who fought united for their freedom. The story
ends with the narrator pitying for the blacks. In most of his stories,
Giritharan finds the problem of blacks as parallel to the Srilankan Tamil
problem.

The Black Diaspora is also a compelled Diaspora. The Blacks are treated like
slaves in the African countries. They are caught in nets like
animals and burnt alive. They are also not allowed to leave their home country.
These Blacks somehow manage to escape and migrate to other
countries. But in the host countries the condition of the Black immigrants is
even worse than the condition of Srilankan Tamils. The problem of
colour follows them to the host countries also. We can find a parallel between
the Black Diaspora and the Srilankan Tamil Diaspora in the
writings of Giritharan.

In the short story “Saavitri, a Srilankan refugee’s child,” the author brings
out the issue of the third generation. The narrator of the story
Saavitri is a Canadian citizen. Her parents belonged to Srilanka. They have left
their country and settled in Canada. They have a longing to
return back not to Srilanka but to some peaceful place in India but Saavitri
likes to remain in Canada. So, she begs her father not to leave
Canada and her father also agrees not because of her insists but because of his
concern to his child. This is mainly because he has faced
the problem of identity when he entered Canada. He who was recognized and given
a national identity as a ‘Srilankan’ couldn’t get any
recognition in Canada. He also struggled to get recognition for his education in
Canada. The author brings the father’s thought into words such: For my
interest why should I spoil my child’s future? Why our daughter has to
face the critical situation, which we have faced? We didn’t get
any recognition for our education in this foreign land. To get we have to
struggle a lot. All cannot struggle as their family condition does not
allow them. My child after completing her education has to face the same problem
when she comes here, as we did. (Translation Mine)
The daughter in the above passage suggests the forthcoming generation. The
Tamils who have settled in the foreign countries are very much
afraid about their future generation. They are very much bothered about them
because they also have to face the similar problems of identity
in the migrated countries. They also have to undergo the struggle like their
forefathers who struggled a lot to gain recognition in the host
countries. Through this story, the author brings out the problems of the third
generation immigrants who are becoming the victims of identity
problems.

In the short story “A Few Moments with the Jamaican” the author describes the
same issue of national identity in a different manner. The story
starts with the narrator being caught up in the rain meets a black man. The
black man wishes the narrator thus:
Welcome friend! It seems that you to belong to the same group, which started
without any preparation, like me. In this aspect we both are
travelers of the same boat. (Translation Mine)

Through the above lines the author is trying to convey two meanings. The direct
meaning is that the narrator and the black man have come
out of their residence without umbrella to protect them from rain. But the inner
meaning is that the author ironically conveys that both of them
have fled their country without any idea or preparation to stay in a foreign
country. This is the state of many Srilankan Tamils who have fled
their country due to the civil war. They started to migrate to foreign countries
without having any knowledge about those countries.Both the narrator and the black man involves in a serious discussion about rain
and nature’s calamities. The black man says that all the
calamities are caused due to man’s destruction of nature. The author tries to
convey the idea that in the eastern countries they are
implementing laws not to destroy nature but the western countries were full of
concrete buildings which are constructed at the destruction of
nature as there is nobody to question them. The weapons that are used in wars
are also resulting in the destruction of nature. On the process
of their conversation they also find that war is a major reason for this kind of
destruction. The narrator says that the world will be happy if
there is no war in the world. For this the black man says:

You don’t know… How long have you been staying here? But, it has been thirty
years since I have arrived here. I don’t have any school
education. Even then they are asking me ‘Where are you from?’ Two young boys
asked me such yesterday. Do you know what I told them?
(Do)

As the narrator is eagerly for his answer, the black man again continues:

Nowadays when I confront these types of questions I am not getting angry as
earlier. My mind has attained maturity in this matter. I asked,
Boys how old are you? For that, one of the boys said “why are you asking? Even
though, if knowing that helps to know the answer for our
question, I will tell… coming November I am twenty years old. Ask his age to
him.” For that I said that’s enough for me. Then I asked “My
relationship with this land is much more when compared to yours. If it is so
then how can you have more rights than me in this land? Where
are you coming from? You know how both of them were agitated? (Translation Mine)

Through this passage one can realize how an immigrant’s national identity is
questioned in the host countries. The author’s statements seem
like questioning what decides one’s national identity. It is very difficult to
find a particular factor that forms one’s national identity. He asks is it
‘the birth’ that gives the national identity or is the period of stay in a
particular country that forms ones national identity. If it is birth that
decides one’s national identity then what identity does one gets if he lives the
remaining party of his life in another country. Thus the identity
of the person gets fractured as he moves from one country to another.

Language plays an important role in shaping one’s identity. Often a person is
identified on the basis of the way he speaks and the words he
use. In the case of immigrants, language becomes a primary factor for their
survival in an alien land. For many Tamil immigrants assimilating
the host country’s language is a difficult task. Hence Giritharan also gives
importance to language in his short stories. He has dealt with the
problem of immigrants understanding the foreign language. He conveys this idea
through the short story “expatriation.”

The hero of the story Aasaipillai is the security guard of a vehicle shed in a
ten-storeyed building in Canada. He is one of the Tamil
immigrants who come from Srilanka. He is one among those who fled the country to
save their life because of the atrocities committed by the
Srilankan army. In the beginning he cleaned dishes in a hotel in Canada but as
time passed on he found very difficult to continue the same
job as he had a respectful job in his native country.

For his ease, he found a security guard job. He has to work from midnight to
early morning in the shed. One early morning, a white man after
parking his car in the shed, greets Aasaipillai and informs that there is a bomb
in the second floor. This news makes Aasaipillai to shiver but
thinking that it will be a shame on his part to express the fear, he hides it
and asks the details of the bomb to the White man. He also asks
the white man that how he has confirmed it as a bomb.

The white man laughs at him and makes fun of him by saying that there is no such
difficulty in finding out a bomb. Aasaipillai thanks the white
man for the information and his mind starts thinking about the carelessness of
the white man in the bomb case. The very word ‘bomb’ makes
Aasaipillai to remember the bombs which are used by the Srilankan army to kill
the innocent Tamils. His memory goes back to his friends who
have become the victims of the genocide. But, for the whites it has become an
unusual thing.

Several thoughts become to occupy Aasaipillai’s mind. First he thinks of
clearing the bomb by carefully searching it. Then he also thinks of
informing the police but he was very much worried as if it is a time bomb and
bursts immediately, his wife and children who are in his native
will be left helpless. He prays to his god ‘Kathirkama Kanthan’ for saving him
from such terrible situation. In many of his stories Giritharan has a mention of
the god Kathirkama Kanthan. This shows his religious affinity and
assertion of Tamil culture. Murugan devotion among the Tamil
Diaspora is one of the notable qualities of Tamil people and Giritharan has also
made use of this concept in many of his stories.Aasaaipillai after making a note in the reference book as a precaution goes
forward to clear the bomb. He starts from the ground floor,
carefully inspects every nook and corner of the floor and moves to the second
floor. It is on the south-side stairs that the white man has
mentioned about the bomb. There he finds George, a homeless sleeping in a
corner. The author gives a description of George who is an
example of homeless immigrants. George had a descent job once but for some
reason he left the job. Now he is mentally affected and roams
in the street. Aasaipillai had sympathy on George and he allowed him to sleep in
that building.

The author says that it is not a great wonder or surprise to see such a homeless
in the streets of Toronto. It has become an ordinary incident
to see the people sleeping on the manhole lids. He ridicules that there also
some welfare organization functioning in that area for giving food
and shelter for the homeless. But, these welfare organizations are never
concerned about these people because they are working only for their
profit.

Aasaipillai’s movement disturbs George’s sleep and he spreads a smile.
Aasaipillai carefully investigates all the places but he could not find
anything as the white man said. He also enquires George about the bomb and finds
that the white man has cheated him. He gets very angry
that the white man has treated a sincere guard inferiorly. If he informs this
illegal action of the white man to the police, the white man will
definitely be severely punished. The white man has insulted a respectable human
being who had great honour in his native.

The author here says that Aasaipillai being an immigrant has forgotten a basic
difference that accent also sometimes plays with the meaning of
words. He could not realise the difference between Bum (homeless) and bomb. The
author concludes the story by asking that the
misunderstanding of Aasaipillai can either be called as innocence or as one of
the important features which has to be recorded in the immigrant
experience. He says that the immigrants do not leave the tradition, language and
culture with their home country instead they carry it with them
wherever they go. Thus language and accent also plays a vital role in the
immigrants’ survival.

The short story “where are you from?” is one of Giritharan’s most popular
stories. The title of the story itself symbolizes the questioning of an
individual’s national identity. The narrator of this story is a taxi driver. One
day a white Canadian woman gets into his taxi and asks ‘where are
you from?’ The narrator is pained to hear such a question because he has been
facing the same questions repeatedly since his arrival to
Canada. This question is faced not only by the narrator of the story but also by
all the immigrants who take refuge in a foreign country. Even
though the immigrants have got the host country’s citizenship and have
assimilated to the host country’s culture, this question still persists. So
this tormenting question made the narrator to think such:

It has been ten years since I have arrived Canada. I am a full-fledged Canadian
citizen. This old white woman is asking where I come from. In
future, my children who are born and brought up here (Canada) might also have to
face the same question by some other whites. (Translation
Mine)

Through these lines the author has brought out the thoughts of several Tamils
who are living in Canada and other countries. These
immigrants want this trauma to be ended with their generation. They were afraid
that their children may also have to undergo this trauma. The
narrator feels to interrupt the white woman. He says, “Am I not looking like a
Canadian?”
The white woman replies “that I know but where you lived before?”
Although the narrator is frustrated by the white woman’s question he says that
he is from Srilanka. He also anguishly states that the white
woman is his fifteenth customer of that day and among the fifteen, she is the
tenth person to ask the question, where are you from. The
narrator asks in return:
Why all of you are asking the same question? You might have recognized every one
of us by seeing our physical features. Then why do you
question us?

The white woman replies, why? Don’t we have the right to ask? You all are
immigrants. Are we not interested in knowing your nation? The
narrator could not contain his anger anymore and says, “You people are also
immigrants. You came some days ago and we are coming now.
That’s all the difference is.”(Translation Mine)

Through this dialogue the narrator attacks the identity of the whites in Canada
who were also immigrants. Since they came and settled earlier
they are exerting power over the Tamils who have reached the place in recent
years. These Tamil immigrants are struggling hard to get a
national identity in the host land but they get depressed and alienated by
hearing such questions repeatedly. The author also says that those
who ask these types of questions never realize how much this questions affect
one’s psyche.

All the time when an immigrant faces these types of questions he feels ashamed
and gets irritated. Of course for some immigrants it’s not a
big problem as the cause of their immigration is not so pathetic as the
refugees. They can return to their native country if they wish as they
have a national identity in their home country. And, these people never bother
about the identity problem because they are well placed and
they never face any problem in getting a job or finding a house of their own.
But to the refugees like Srilankan Tamils who are denied national
identity in their homeland itself, has to face lot of problems in every aspect
such as seeking jobs, finding living places and getting vehicles.
And, the Tamil people who are fed up with the dream of getting a government job
have to suffer a lot in this aspect.

In the second part of the story, the narrator gets another customer who is a
middle aged white man. The white man asks the narrator’s
permission for smoking in the taxi. The narrator refuses to give permission, as
smoking inside the taxi is strictly prohibited. So the white man
gets angry and he shows his anger in different manner. He shouts at the narrator
to go fast. The narrator quietly replies him that he cannot
cross his speed limit for the sake of customers. This increases the white man’s
angry and he asks the narrator to stop the taxi near the
pathway. He gets down and shouts:

This is Canada man. Go back to your own country!

The narrator also gets angry and he thinks, “This is my country. Which country
do you want me to go?”(Translation Mine)
Even though the Srilankan Tamils are settlers in Canada, they feel that they are
a part of that nation since they have spent most of their life
in Canada rather than in Srilanka. As they couldn’t get a national identity in
their home country, they somehow managed to get an identity in
Canada by becoming citizens of that country. Even after getting citizenship,
they are not fully free from such national threat because they are
frequently reminded of their homeless condition by this distressing question
‘where are you from?’

The Trishanku metaphor is an important element used by Uma Parameswaran in her
writings to explore the diasporic identity. In Hindu
mythology, Trishanku was a king who was sent to heaven by Viswamitra through his
yogic powers. But, Trishanku was denied admission to
heaven because he was still in his mortal stage. Being rejected by both the
worlds he was given a place in the sky. Neither he could enter
the heaven nor could he come to the earth. Thus caught between heaven and earth
Trishanku undergoes the intense experience of the
existential despair being in a land of no man. In the context of the diasporic
writers the Trishanku metaphor plays a vital role in bringing out
the immigrant’s dislocation, sense of alienation, loss and dislocation.
Giritharan’s writings are also not an exemption to this.

Giritharan’s use of images, symbols, metaphors and names of characters shows his
affiliation towards the Tamil nation and culture. The very first
sentence of the story “Manhole”, starts as, “like the Rajaraman of Jeyakantan’s
Rishimoolam he has grown beard and moustache”
(Ramakrishnan). All his examples and characters are deeply rooted in a sense o
Tamil identity. In this story he painfully expresses the condition
of many of Indian and Srilankan Tamil refugees who take the manholes to be their
shelter. The author also brings the character of a Nigerian
taxi driver who proudly calls himself a ‘chief’. In many of Giritharan’s stories
one can find blacks as parallel to Tamils. This is because the
sufferings of the blacks are equally important as the Indian and Srilankan
Tamils. The narrator finds a mysterious ‘Sami’ (saint) sitting on the
manhole looking disparagingly at the parliament building. Though the Sami is
poor and starving, he is so enthusiastic and he often cracks jokes.
He has good wit and sense of humour. One day the narrator, the Sami and Nigerian
taxi driver meets together. The Nigerian gives a
cigarette to the Sami. Sami thanks him and lights the cigarette. He inhales it
and by releasing the smoke he says:

“He an African driving cabs in the middle of the road and so living his life,”
(pointing out the parliament building) “From there they are
formulating leaves……… what also is this but the satanic dance of
fate.”(Ramakrishnan)

From the above lines Giritharan brings out the helpless condition of immigrants
who were unnoticed by the government of the country in which
they dwell. Their problems are left unnoticed as they don’t belong to that
nation. Instead they are given nicknames. For the Canadians all those
who come from the South–East Asia are ‘Pakis.’ This the author brings out
through the dialogue between the narrator and the Sami.
“Why did you laugh?” asked I.“Indians are overflowing all over the world…” said he and laughed. A look of
content has come to settle in his cantenance as if he had uttered
a profound philosophical truth.
“But in truth, you are not an Indian. And I am also not one.”
“True, that I am no Indian. But all those belonging to the Indian sub-continent
are Indians only to them East Indian.’
“But for many Paki” said I.
When he heard this Sami laughed aloud.
“Here, they refer to Indian as paki” and all Pakistani-Indian. But there the two
factions are always attacking each other,” said I. (Do)
Through this dialogue, the author tries to capture the condition of the minds of
the Tamil immigrants who are unable to get any recognition in
the host countries. These immigrants could not share the rights of the host
countries government as they belong to some other nation. So,
many immigrants find very difficult to get shelter in an alien land and for some
of them like the Sami, have no house and they live their entire
life near the manhole.

The author ends this story with the death of Sami inside the manhole. Though he
did not give much information about Sami’s death, he
contrasts the manhole with the glowing parliamentary building in Ontario.

The sense of place becomes a real geographical entity in the diasporic writings.
This is because the immigrants perceive both the physical and
the emotional journey from the past to the present connected with locations. The
representation of the past becomes blended with those of the
present and it depicts the struggle of he immigrants. The writer of the Diaspora
goes back to the land of their origin and projects their past
life. They document how they have lived and their history. The immigrant writer
tries to bring his history identity to the forefront for recognition
and to reaffirm his identity. As the individual moves from one place to another,
the culture of the land of origin within the immigrant is
constantly interacting and contesting with the new culture of the adopted land.
Therefore place occupies a very important position in identity
politics for the immigrant writers.

Giritharan’s portrayal of his characters gives a clear view of the diasporic
identity. His characters are often placed in a separate world and they
struggle hard to create an identity for themselves. He deals with characters
those who have lost everything and tries to gain a new life for
them. As he has also undergone the ethnic conflict in Srilanka and experienced
the diasporic struggle in Canada, he is capable of bringing out
the problems of identity of the Tamils of Srilanka in a unique way.

Chapter-IV
Engaging Transnationality!

This chapter intends to analyse the theme of Transnationalism in the selected
short stories of V.N.Giritaran. In order to understand the idea of
Transnationalism one must be familiar with the term ‘Nationalism’ and its
ideologies thoroughly. Nationalism is a term that refers to a doctrine or
a political movement that holds a nation in terms of ethnicity or culture based
on a shared history. Nationalists believe that the borders of the
state should be congruent with the borders of the nation. Extreme forms of
nationalism hold that nationality is the most important aspect of
one’s identity and attempt to define the nation in terms of race or origin.
Nationalism has also been an important element in shaping the world
history. In modern time the concept of nationalism underwent a change. The idea
of nationalism that was used to refer to a nation earlier has
become metamorphosed and now it is used to refer even a particular state. Now
historians use the term ‘nationalism’ to refer to this historical
transition and to the emergence and predominance of nationalist ideology.

With the dispersal and scattering of people from one country to another the idea
of nationalism extends the border of a particular nation. This
surpassing of the national feeling across boundaries and cultures is called
‘Diaspora nationalism’. The Diaspora nationalism, as Benedict
Anderson calls Long-distance nationalism refers to the nationalist feeling among
a Diaspora such as the Irish in the United States, Lebanon in
America and Africa, and the Armenians in Europe and the United States. To this
category the Tamils also are added, as the Tamil Diaspora
also claims for a nation-state. Natesan Satyendra in his article “Tamils- A
Trans state nation” quotes a famous saying in Tamil:

“Tamilan illatha Nadu illai-
Thamizhanuku endru oru Nadu illai”
“There is no state without a Tamil-
But there is no state for the Tamil” (Satyendra)

The quotation suits the Srilankan Tamils much better than the Indian Tamils.
This statement conveys two serious issues i.e. the homeless state
of the Srilankan Tamil Diaspora that has laid its feet in all parts of the world
and the ethnic conflict that made the Tamils homeless. Tamil
nationalism is a strong aspiration by the Tamils to establish traditional Tamil
homelands as a separate nation within India and within Srilanka.
The Indian state of Tamilnadu and the Tamil Eelam region in Srilanka are
considered as Tamil people’s traditional lands.

Tamil nationalism is rooted in an identity mixed with the Tamil language and
culture. It seeks to preserve the Tamil language and culture, unite
Tamils across boundaries, eradicate caste discrimination within Tamils,
emancipate and empower Tamil women, uplift the economic status of
Tamils and to securely establish Tamil identity in a globalized world. In order
to achieve their goal Tamil nationalists seek separate or self-
governing political power in Tamil Nadu and Tamil Ealam. In other words, this
can be called as ‘Ethic nationalism’ because the Tamils are a
separate ethnic group and they consider themselves as different from other
groups. Ethnic nationalism is a form of nationalism wherein the
‘nation’ is defined in terms of ethnicity. It always includes some element of
descent from previous generations. It also includes ideas of a culture
shared between members of the group, with their ancestors, and usually a shared
language.

The emphasis in the definition of ‘nation’ changes with its relation to culture,
language and ethnicity. The main feature of ethnic nationalism is
that each ethnic group is entitled to self-determination. The result of this
self-determination is the need for self-regulated administrative bodies
within an already established society, aiming at a sovereign state separate from
that society. The ethnic nationalism is often contrasted with the
‘Civic nationalism’. Ethnic nationalism gains membership of the nation by
descent or heredity, often articulated in terms of common blood or
kinship, rather than political membership whereas Civic nationalism tend to
define nationality in terms of origin within the nation state. This notion
of Ethnic nationalism is often opposed to the Western views of a nation defined
by its geographical territory.

A nation-state for an ethnic group gives freedom for protection against colonization, persecution, racism and its claim to facilitate the shared
cultural and social life, which was not possible for them earlier as they were
in the status of ethnic minority. The ethnic nationalism is gaining
importance in the modern criteria because of its use by extremists to raise
voice against racist agendas and genocides.

In the word Transnationalism, the prefix ‘Trans’ means crossing borders of
states, nations, territories and cultures. The transnationalism is one of
the major aspects of Diaspora. The Tamil Diaspora is one of the notable
Diasporas which spread across the globe and still have an affiliation
of unity. Transnationalism therefore means crossing national borders, either
physically in terms of migration or through a network of some kind.
Natesan Satyendra defines transnationalism as follows:

“Transnationalism refers to sustained ties of persons, networks and
organizations across nation-state borders, arising out of international
migration patterns and refugee flows (Faist 5000). The recent global
transformations in economic relations, ethnic conflicts and communication
technology have led to the creation of new transnational kinship groups,
transnational social circuits and transnational communities. By expanding
borders across nations and creating new social ties, the concepts pertaining to
cultural spheres, acculturation, cultural retention, and citizenship
are started to change drastically. (Satyendra)

Like identity and ethnicity, ‘transnationality’ (how a person or a community is
defined internationally) is becoming more important in this era of
globalization. The most important feature of ‘transnationalism’ is the
interconnection it has with the immigrant experience. Transnational networks
often established by immigrants play major roles in business, immigration and
politics. Satyendra again says:

People and their ideas are moving freely back and forth across global borders
than ever before. This ebb and flow, through easy travel and
growing communications technology may be reshaping the traditional concept of a
nation. In fact, some people with homes in two countries are
showing an amazing capacity to maintain dual identities with strong cultural
ties and contributions to both places. (Satyendra)

In the present scenario more than 10 million Tamil people have spread across the
world. The passion and love of the Tamils for their
language and culture, which has a cherished heritage, is the one that binds the
Tamil Diaspora worldwide. Their unity and coherence is fast
growing as that it can be recognized as an international force.

A Trans state nation is a cultural, economical and political togetherness of
people living in different places across distant areas. It is a
togetherness consolidated by struggle and suffering. It is not an idealism
expressed only in one word. It is a political togetherness expressed by
voices around the world. It is a togetherness directed to secure the aspirations
of people for equality and freedom by establishing, nurturing and
maintaining governmental or nongovernmental networks or institutions necessary
for that purpose.

The digital revolution that has brought new changes in the world is helping to
advance Tamil togetherness. Globalization and localization are
taking place at the same time. Tamils living in many lands and across distant
areas are communicating with one another through Internet
newsgroups and mailing lists. Tamil websites continue to multiply. And so do the
other Medias of communication like Tamil newspapers,
periodicals and broadcasts on the web. In the early days of migration people did
not have the opportunity to remain actually engaged or even
adequately informed of events in their home countries. Policy makers and
scholars had a limited understanding of diasporic communities and
their importance. But, in the present scenario this has changed with the impact
of globalization and the increase in number of transnational
migrants. Diasporic groups are capable of maintaining and investing in social,
economic and political networks that span the globe, are of
increasing relevance and interest to the policy makers in home countries as well
as host countries.

Tamils around the world have a strong desire to establish a newsgroup on the
internet to share their views on Tamil history, ancient and modern literature,
ancient Tamil civilization, Tamil culture, religion, art,
drama and philosophy. This newsgroup serves as a means to preserve
Tamil language and culture and it also gains a special place in the electronic
communication network. Today, there are hundreds of Tamil
discussion groups and blogs in cyber space. The most important transnational
voices for Tamil independence are available in the websites
www.tamilnet.com and www.tamilnation.org, which are being updated frequently.

Dual citizenship is one of the best examples of transnationalism. Dual
citizenship allows a person to simultaneously be a member of two
countries, therefore gaining the benefit of having two nationalities. In Canada
after 1977, any Canadian citizen who chooses to immigrate and
become a citizen of another country may retain their Canadian citizenship,
allowing them to be citizens of two or more countries at the same
time. Therefore a person who immigrates to Canada may become a citizen of Canada
and then immigrate to another country becoming a citizen
of that country, while remaining a Canadian. This ability to naturalize oneself
in a new country is one of the major influences that have led to
the phenomenon known as transnationalism.

The Transnational state is made up of those aspects that violate the
circumscribed structures, politics and ideologies of nation states. Many
diasporic writers have preoccupied with the question of bourgeois nation-state
and its troubled relations with displaced groups and practices,
frequently seen as symptoms of transnationality. Sudesh Mishra quotes Tololyan
views of Diaspora as:

Diasporas are emblems of transnationalism because they embody the question of
borders, which is at the heart of any adequate definition of
the others of the nation-state. The latter always imagines and represents as a
land, a territory, a place that functions as the site of
homogeneity, equilibrium, integration, this is the domestic tranquility that
hegemony seeking national elites always desire and some times achieve.
In such a territory, to differences are assimilated, destroyed or assigned to
ghettoes encloses demarcated by boundaries so sharp that they
enable the nation to acknowledge the apparently singular and clearly fenced-off
differences within itself. While simultaneously reaffirming the
privileged homogeneity of the rest, as well as the differences between itself
and what lies over its frontiers (Mishra132).

From the above view of Toloyan, it becomes clear that in all the Diasporas there
will be questions of nationalism and place which play an
important role in the diasporic writings. Transnationalism also paves way for
‘transculturation’ which is also due to the dispersal of people from
their home countries and their settlement in foreign countries. The
transnational feeling can be recognized from Giritharan’s short story
“Relative.”The story starts with the description of a winter night in Canada. As there was
continuous flow of snow during the past twenty four hours, the
streets are covered with snow. The hero of the story Somasundaram was an
honourable physics teacher in Srilanka who has produced many
doctors and engineers. But, in Canada he is a responsible immigrant who works
all the seven days in a week for Canada’s economic prosperity.
He works in a perfume company. His duty is to reply phone calls and inspect the
factory once in every hour. So he finds it as a very
comfortable job but his poor economic condition makes him to earn more. So, he
also does the work of a Night watchman.

One night he gets a call from Joe under whom he is working. Joe says that Somasundaram’s duty on that duty is in the city hall underground
parking lot. Joe knows well that Somasundaram is a sincere security guard. Since
there were many complaints that there are many homeless
sleeping in the parking lot Joe sends Somasundaram for clearing them. This makes
Somasundaram very uneasy because he has to go out for
his work in the biting cold. Also, he was unable to take rest even in the week
ends.

Somasundaram finds his wife sleeping with their children and he even gets
jealous of her because it has been ten years since they have
arrived Canada but he never asked her to go for any work outside. He knows that
she is taking care of the household activities and the
children. So he never bothered about her work. But, in contrary to this, his
wife always despised him for helping his relatives in his native. She
never thinks of the difficulties of Somasundaram, an honourable physics teacher
who lost all his dignity and works hard all the days of a week
for the betterment of the family.

All these thoughts occupy Somasundarm’s mind and he comes out of his house. As
he thought already, there was snow spread everywhere
without any human beings on the road. He somehow manages to get into a bus and
reaches the city hall. He greets the cashiers who were
already there busy with their works. He also greets the Poland old man who
cleans the parking lot. He has known the Poland man earlier when
he worked there temporarily. He used to inform him if somebody enters the
parking lot without his permission. So, he asks the old man to
inform him if somebody sleeps in there. Somasundaram remembers Joe’s order to
call him when he starts his works, so he makes a call for
him. Joe is very much delighted in seeing Somasundaram’s sincerity and he
promises to increase his salary.

Nearly half of the night passed on without any important incident. Somasundaram
inspects the parking lot once in every hour and he listens to
radio for lessening his boredom. He listens to a Tamil channel which is
available all the twenty-four hours a day. As the clock struck three, the
Poland man comes running towards Somasundaram. He informs that there was a man
sleeping in the fourth floor. Somasundaram goes with the
old man to inspect the fourth floor. The author here brings out the physical
features of the homeless immigrants through the homeless
sleeping in the fourth floor. The man who is sleeping appeared to be fifty years
old. He wore torn clothes. Foul smell spread the floor
because of him.

Somasundaram remembers Joe’s strict order not to allow any homeless inside the
parking lot. He also thinks of the biting cold outside. The
Poland man is also eagerly waiting for sending the homeless out. Somasundaram is
caught in a critical situation and he thinks of sending the
Poland man away from that place first. So he thanks him and sends him away. The
Poland man unwillingly moves away. Somasundaram says
the homeless that he has no right to sleep there and he asks him to go to some
hostels. The homeless replies that, all hostels are already
full and he also promises not to create any trouble.

Somasundaram does not like to send him out in such a situation, at the same time
he has gained name as a strict security officer. The author
here brings out the details of the homeless. The homeless is a native Indian.
Somasundaram knows him very well because he has seen him
sleeping there many times. He Thinks:

I am from the other end of the globe, being chased away from the native land,
came running here as a refugee. But you are the one who
has lost his freedom in the native land itself. I am a refugee in a foreign land
but he has become a refuge in his own land. (Translation Mine)
Through the above passage, the author tries to bring out the fellow feelings of
the immigrants who help each other in times of need. It also
shows that the Indian immigration is not a forced migration like the Srilankan
Tamil migration.

Somasundaram is a strict security officer but he is a humanitarian. He allows
the homeless to sleep there till morning. The Poland man asks
him about the homeless. He that he somehow\w managed to send the homeless out of
the parking lot. The author ends the story with a note
of contempt.

The story also brings the transnational feeling of the immigrants who can easily
understand the sufferings of their fellow immigrants. Giritharan’s
portrayal of his characters shows that they are helpful, kind, pitying and
generous. They are nowhere presented as a symbol of cruelty.
Giritharan never curses people instead he curses the situation that made people
to disperse. This story proves to be an example of nurturing
transnational kinship.

Transculturation is a term coined by Fernando Ortiz in 1947 to describe the
phenomenon of merging and converging cultures. It reflects the
natural tendency of the people to resolve conflicts over time rather than
increasing it. In the modern context both conflicts and resolutions are
intensified through communication and stronger forces for bringing societies
together have replaced transportation technology with the ancient
tendency of culture drifting or remaining apart.

In one sense transculturation covers war, ethnic conflict, racism,
multiculturalism, cross-culturalism and interracial marriage. In the other
sense, it
is an aspect of global phenomena and human events. The processes of
transculturalism are extremely complex, steered by powerful forces at
the macro-social level and ultimately resolved at the interpersonal level.
Separation and isolation of people become the issue of a conflict when
societies encroach upon one another territorially. If a way to co-exist cannot
be found, then conflict becomes worse, leading to a process by
which contact between individuals lead to some resolution.

The realities of social change through natural and artificial means brings out
the fact that culture is destined to change. It is the perception of
individuals within cultures that their cultures do not in fact change
fundamentally over time. Human mortality and reproduction provides for social
regeneration as well and this process of regeneration that naturally includes
sexual union often integrates other cultures. The inability of
societies to maintain divisions over generations is the reason for this
integration. As parents die, their children have the opportunity to reflect
upon the nature and validity of non-convergent perceptions and change them if
they like.

Transnationalism and transculturalism are the result of new era in immigration.
Laws and business have changed in the era of globalization
mainly because of the principles set by historical migration. Changing view
points and acceptance of immigrants as well as the development of
immigration policy in many countries has led to this new phenomenon which
influences global culture.

For the diasporic groups these changes often represent differences between their
homeland and the host country’s culture. Thus, this becomes
a great obstacle to ethno convergence. The obstacle for ethno convergence is
ethnocentrism, which is the opinion that one’s culture is of great
importance than others. There are some factors that contribute to ethnocentrism.
Religion or belief is the prime ethnocentric divider as religion is
a highly personal and attached part of culture. Language takes the next place in
this process as people of an ethnic group are often attached
to a particular language. Learning a foreign language for the people in this
group is giving up one’s cultural heritage.

The Tamils of Srilanka have a cultural affinity. Canada has a major
concentration of Srilankan Tamils. They are very proud of their past and
see themselves different from their nation. They are very much acquainted with
their language and speak Tamil regardless of the country in
which they live. The Tamils who were spread across the globe raise their voice
for Tamil unity. They preserve their culture and tradition. They
have website through which they spread Tamil music, films and culture. The Tamil
Diaspora in Canada has grown to the extent of changing
Canada’s perception of LTTE. But these Tamils have been scrutinized by Medias
for their involvement with the LTTE. They have organized a
Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) in Toronto, presided by Raj Gunanathan.
In an article “Culture and the Tamil Diaspora” Ramalingam
Ganesalingam writes thus:

“Our children born in the host countries think differently from most of us who
were born and brought up in Srilanka. Many parents are unaware
of this fact while the children are young and are within the home environment.
But as they grow up as young adults they question the need
for some of our practices and rituals. Our parents never experienced these
situations and as a result many of us have been brought
unprepared. How should Tamil culture be preserved? What steps should we take?”
(Ganesalingam)

This is not only the fear of Ganesalingam but this is a major threat to many
Tamils who live in foreign countries leaving their homeland. The
Tamils who live scattered everywhere struggle hard to nurture their culture and
tradition.

Isolated Diaspora communities often preserve their cultural heritage much more
than the people who live in their homeland. The Jaffna Tamils
preserve a dialect of Tamil that is in many respects closer to classical Tamil.
The Tamil Diaspora community strives hard over generations to
achieve economic prosperity but it is also preserving its Tamil identity and
ancestral traditions. They have their own stories of how they
overcome numerous obstacles in their adopted homeland but despite their relative
isolation from their homeland, they have preserved and
nurtured their tradition such as ‘Kavadi’ festival and other Amman festivals in
all their adopted countries. The ‘Manimekalai cult’ and the
‘Perumpannan kovil’ in Indonesia, ‘the Thiruvempavai festival’ in Thailand,
‘Karraikalammair kovil’ in Kampuchea and the ‘Sivalinga worship’ among
the people of Mexico are some of the examples which the Tamils claim as their
cultural identity.

The dispersed Tamils have also established educational institutions in their
host countries. For example, Tamil as a mother tongue is
taught for Tamil children form primary to the pre-university level in Singapore.
Myanmar (Burma) has fifty Tamil primary schools and two Tamil
newspapers Rasika Ranjani and Thondan were circulated prior to 1966 in many
countries. Tamil culture is well preserved by staging plays such
as Harichandra, Nala-Damayanti and Nallathangal. Prayers in Tamil and the
singing of ‘Thevaram’ and ‘Thiruvasagam’ are also being done in
order to show the richness of Tamil literature and culture. The Tamils also have
electronic media that reaches the nook and corners of the
world, which serves as a useful agent to unite the Tamils all over the world.

Thus transculturation becomes one of the serious issues for the Tamil Diaspora.
The Tamils have a vibrant language and a strong cultural
heritage and they celebrate it. But, with their dispersal and settlement in a
multicultural country like Canada where immigrants from different
societies and different cultures have settled, it has become very difficult for
the Tamils to assimilate the foreign culture and the foreign
language. As the Tamils are very proud of their customs and society they find it
difficult to manage and mingle with a different society and
people.

Transnationalism and transculturalism form the major part of Giritaran’s short
stories. He has brought out this problem of assimilation in many
of his stories. One such story is “The Teacher and The Student.” The story
starts with a description of an early morning scene. The narrator
introduces the hero of the story Subramaniyam Master. The Master had gained
respect from all people in Srilanka. Opposed to this experience
he is unable to move freely with anyone in Canada. Even though he is not willing
his son has brought him to Canada. But, life has become
bored for him within his one-month stay in Canada. His condition is like caging
a bird that sang freely by enjoying the nature. The narrator
through the thoughts of the Master brings to light the difficulty in
assimilating the host country’s culture. For the immigrants it becomes very
difficult to forget their past and the life they lived.

All the dispersed Tamils can feel the depression of the Master as they have
enjoyed every moment of their life in their native before the civil
war. They find happiness in thinking about their past which include the beauty
of the dawn, dusk, rain, wind and the sky full of stars. But, in
the host country they have to spend their days only within four walls. They have
to work all through the day and even after finishing their
work; they can rest only in the small apartments from where they could not even
recognize whether it is day or night. They have to struggle
hard to earn for their food and for paying mortgage for their rented apartments.
For many immigrants even this least pleasure is not available
as they are not able to rent an apartment and their condition is even more
pathetic as they spend their lives near manholes or roadside. This
creates a mental disease for many immigrants. They think of their situation and
become depressed. The narrator out the condition of the mind
of the Master through these words:

His son worked as an Engineer in his native. Here he works as a labour in an
industry. Many immigrants who come here are working like this
without having any relation to the degree they have obtained. The third world
immigrants driving taxis or delivering pizzas or cleaning dishes in
the hotel is not a strange thing. Like this the young minds which have to be
utilized for the development of their nation are being spoiled here.
(Translation Mine)

From the above passage, it becomes clear that the immigrants are ready to do any
kind of work that they are assigned in the host county
regardless of the degrees they have obtained in their native country. They are
forced to do such menial jobs because they have to earn out
of their living only through this way. They have to work hard for their food and
for paying mortgage for their apartments. So these people
forget their dignity they had in their place and they change their way of living
to adopt the host culture. For these immigrants it becomes
compulsory to assimilate the host country’s culture. The immigrants find great
difficulties in adopting the food habits of the host country.
Particularly for the Tamils who have the habit of eating rice everyday, it
becomes very difficult to get used with the western style of eating.Subramaniyam Master’s situation is also the same. His son’s and daughter-in
law’s earnings are enough only for food and paying mortgage and
they could not save any money for their future. So, Master even at a very old
age plans to go for a job. Sitting inside the walls has brought
monotony to him. Thus, he decides to pass his time in a useful way by going for
a job as his earnings will also help the family and he can
also fond a kind of recreation in doing such. He who has to cherish in happiness
by seeing the doctors and engineers whom he has
produced, is willing to do any work that he gets.

On his way, Master meets Ragunathan who was one of his favourite and sincere
students. Master has felt very proud of him when he returned
from the university as an engineer. At the same time master’s mind also asks the
question of Ragunathan’s arrival. Both of them chat with each
other and go to a nearby Tim Gordon Doughnut shop. Master’s mind goes back to
the happy moments of how he was honoured for his
valuable support to Ragunathan. So, Master leaves his job-seeking journey and
returns back home with heartfelt joy having met his old student.
But the thoughts of Ragunathan are something different. The author ends the
story with the thoughts of Ragunathan and he also gives reason
for this entire struggle as:

At the same time, Ragunathan who has been returning home is fed up with
different thoughts. He is working as a cleaner in a factory in that
area. How much the Master had helped him to become an engineer? When he planned
to leave his studies, how much had he encouraged
him the use of education? How much will the Master feel if he comes to know that
he is working such? How cruel has been the war? How it
has torn the relationship between individuals? (Translation Mine)

The author here like most of his stories, finds the war as a major reason for
all human problems. It is this war that had made millions of
Srilankan Tamils to lose their identity. The author also points out from this
story the difficulty in leaving one’s culture and assimilating other’s.Natesan Satyendra quotes G.U. Popes translation of a part of Kaniyan
Poongundran’s Purananuru:

To us all Tamils are one, all men our kin.Life’s good comes not from other’s gift, nor ill
Man’s pains and pains’ relief are from within
Death’s no new thing; nor do our bosoms thrill
When joyous life seems like a luscious draught.
When grieve, we patient suffer; for, we deem
This much-praised life of ours a fragile raft
Borne down the waters of some mountain stream
That o’er huge boulders roaring seeks the plain
Tho’ storms with lightnings’ flash from darken’d skies
Descend, the raft goes on as fates ordain.
Thus have we seen in visions of the wise!-
We marvel not at greatness of the great;
Still less despise we men of low estate.
(Satyendra)

This poem, which was written some hundreds of years ago, is likely to provide a
solution for growing transnational kinship and it also cultivates
confidence in the minds of the Tamils who struggle for a separate nation.

Giritharan’s writing serves as a means to nurture transnational relationship.
All his short stories bring out the pain of the Tamil people in
Srilankan and the struggle they undergo in the countries where they have
migrated. In his website ‘Pathivugal’ there is a continuous publication
of articles, short stories and essays which are contributed by Tamils all over
the world and it also it reaches all parts of the world. He serves
as a channel for re-uniting the Tamils who were scattered in different parts of
the world. He says:

For me there is difference between writers from Tamilnadu or from Singapore or
from Malaysia or from Srilanka. We all belong to one family:
Tamil writers’ family. Tamil writers living in many different parts of the world
should feel united. For instance in Tamilnadu various Tamil writers
from various parts write different Tamil: they speak different Tamil. Speaking
differently or writing differently doesn’t mean they are different. They
all belong to the same Tamil writers’ family. Srilankan Tamil literature or
Pulam Peyarnthor literature or Malaysian Tamil literature or tamilnadu
Tamil literature all should be considered as part of the same Tamil literature.
(Ramakrishnan)

Giritharan’s passion for Tamil people, their language and culture has been
portrayed in the form of his short stories. He is writing about Tamil
people’s everyday and spreading it to peoples view with the help of his Internet
magazine. His dedication and devotedness to Tamil language
and people can be seen through his contribution in the form of writing. In other
terms he is a bridge who connects Tamils all over the world.

Chapter-V
ConclusionExpatriate writing occupies a significant place in literature in the recent
years. Writers from all parts of the world contribute to this genre. Most
of the writers from South-east Asian countries and African countries adopt
English for writing about the expatriates. Quite differently Giritharan
chooses to write in his native language Tamil. His stories proves that
expatriate literature written in Tamil is much effective than that which is
written in English.

Giritharan’s stories have sustained criticisms because of the issue he has
chosen as the theme for hi short stories i.e., the ethnic conflict. His
stories also attained greatness within a short time due to his style, theme,
form and use of language. He has chosen the first person narrative
and the contemporary Srilankan Tamil which adds to the effect of the stories.

His writings provide authentic reason for decrying his home country. Unlike
other diasporic writers who glorify their home countries, Giritharan’s
writing reveals the pains about his past. His stories claim to identify in terms
of ethnicity rather than in terms of nationality. Though living in
Canada and having received many scholarships and awards, he chooses to write in
Tamil. This sense of attachment to Tamil language and
culture has brought recognition for Giritharan’s stories in the world literary
scene.

It is through his works many people are coming to know about the struggle and
suffering of many innocent Tamils both in Srilanka and in the
country to which they have migrated. Giritharan’s stories attained greatness
regardless of the disparagement of critics because of his victimized
Srilankan Tamil identity. Due to his rich experience, he is able to picturise
the suffering in his work and this makes the reader to think of such
problems. One can observe the interlinking of his life with the characters and
projecting himself as an essential character in his short stories.
For the present study, the Short stories of V.N. Giritharan are taken for
analysis. An attempt is made to analyse his stories in the thematic
level. Few of his short stories are viewed from the perspectives of identity
politics and transnationality. The introduction has brought out the
history of Diaspora in general. Emphasis is given to the Srilankan Tamil
Diaspora and the reason for their migration. Attempts are made to
locate Giritharan as an eminent Tamil Diasporic writer in the field of Diaspora
Literature.

The second chapter has marked out the uniqueness of Giritharan in his way of
choosing, the form, theme and language and the technique he
has adopted to narrate his stories. The third chapter has concentrated on the
problems of identity which forms the core of many of Giritharan’s
short stories. Some selected stories are analysed on the basis of questioning
one’s identity in a transnational world. The fourth chapter has
brought out the elements of transnationalism as presented in Giritharan’s short
stories. It has also shown the part played by Giritharan for
nurturing transnational kinship among the Srilankan Tamils. The conclusion sums
up the whole argument and contends that the need for writings
like Giritharan’s have become indispensable.

Readers from all parts of the world have appreciated the works of Giritharan and
they honour him as the soul which struggles for the re-union
of Tamils all over the world. Many of his fans have urged him to continue his
journey of writing as it provides medicine for the aching hearts
of the scattered Tamil Diaspora.

Only some of his short stories are translated into English. If all his writings
are translated into English and the regional languages, people all
over the world can realize the problem of Srilankan Tamils. His stories can also
be made as syllabus for schools and colleges as it is easy to
comprehend. One of his stories “Ponthup Paravaigal” have been made the syllabus
for Tamil children in Singapore.

Beyond all this, his writings have attained much popularity because of his
earnest attempt to record the immigrant experience in Tamil since no
other writer has come forward to record the sufferings of the scattered
Srilankan Tamils. Thus Giritharan has proved himself as a significant
Tamil diasporic writer in the corpus of world literature.